Science

The following are the characteristics (features) of Good Governance.

1. Multi-party Democratic Government 9. Rule of Law
2. Transparent decision-making process 10. Gender equality
3. Accountable government to people 11. Widespread people’s participation
4. Protection of human rights 12. Independent & impartial judiciary
5. Corruption-free society 13. Accountable bureaucracy
6. Right to information & expression 14. Strong & informed civil society
7. Decentralized governance 15 Sustainable development
8. Civilized & Democratic Culture 16. Preservation of nature & ecology

Important elemsents of Good Governance: Good Governance is the positive contributions made
by all the organs of the STATE towards people and for the welfare of the society. Foundation for
the Good Governance is laid by the country’s Government, civic society, communication media,
and private economic sectors. Following elements essentially constitute the Good Governance:

Accountability Legal validity Good-will & Participation
Decentralization Rights to Minority Wise use of Power
Right to Information Strong Civil Society Honesty of purpose
Human Rights Protection Transparency Rule of Law

*Elements of Good Governance

Nepal is desperately making an attempt to achieve ‘Good Governance’. But there are problems and
challenges on the way to ‘Good Governance’.

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The following are the problems and challenges to ‘Good Governance’ in Nepal.
1. Real (actual) implementation of ‘International Treaty against Corruption’ and Anti-corruption

Act in the country
2. Inability to provide (give) more autonomous power and authority to an autonomous

constitutional body CIAA (Commission for Investigation of Abuse of Authority)
3. Difficulty in giving freedom of speech and expression at practical level to communication

media and the citizens
4. Difficulty in arranging, managing, coordinating the public activities/services undertaken by

public organizations (agencies), civic society, private sectors, judiciary and communication
media
5. Difficulty in the implementation of Citizens Charter to help service-takers (beneficiaries) and
sincere follow-up

Words and terms you would like to know

Accountability: Accountability is a key requirement of good governance. Not only government
institutions but also the private sector and civil society organizations must be accountable to the public
and to their welfare.
Participation: Participation by both men and women at all the levels are needed for good governance.
Participation may be either direct or through legitimate intermediate institutions or representatives. It
is important to point out that representative democracy does not necessarily allow (permit) the most
vulnerable in society to be part of the solution for the problems they are facing. Participation needs to
be informed and organized. This means freedom of association and expression on the one hand and an
organized civil society on the other hand.
Rule of law: Good governance requires fair legal frameworks that are enforced impartially. It also requires
full protection of human rights, particularly those of minorities. Impartial enforcement of laws requires
an independent judiciary and an impartial and incorruptible police force for rule of law to prevail in a
society.
Transparency: Transparency means that decisions taken and their enforcement are done in accordance
with rules and regulations. It also means that information is freely available and directly accessible to
those who will be affected by such decisions and their enforcement.
Responsiveness: Good governance requires that institutions and processes try to serve all stakeholders
within a reasonable timeframe with sincerity of purpose.
Consensus oriented: There are several actors and as many view points in a given society. Good governance
requires mediation of different interests in society to reach a broad consensus in the best interest of the
whole community.
Effectiveness and efficiency: Good governance means that processes and institutions produce results
that meet the needs of society while making the best use of resources at their disposal. The concept of
efficiency in the context of good governance also covers the sustainable use of natural resources and the
protection of the environment.
Equity and inclusiveness: A society’s well being depends on ensuring that all its members feel that they
have a stake in it and do not feel excluded from the mainstream of society. This requires all groups, but
particularly the most vulnerable, have opportunities to improve or maintain their well being.

Activities

1. Explain with examples as to how Good Governance and Development are complementary to
each other.

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2. Read the following points carefully and decide whether it makes an example of good governance.
Give reasons for your every answer.
a) People fell unconscious after consuming illegally made local-wine.
b) All the financial details of Village Development Committee are available on office notice-
board.
c) A woman accused of witch-craft was thrashed badly.
d) Public transporters extract more money as fare from travelers during festivals.
e) Grants and aides meant for local area development were not used for correct purposes.

3. Prepare a dialogue on side-effects on your community in absence of good-governance.
4. Present a detailed account on how social values, beliefs and traditions positively help in achieving

“Good Governance”.
5. Make a list of effective steps (measures) to be taken for realizing the goal of ‘Good Governance’.

Exercise

1. What is Governance? Mention when Governance becomes Good Governance.
2. Define ‘Good Governance’. Make a list of features (characteristics) of Good Governance.
3. Explain any eight important elements of Good Governance.
4. What are the practical problems and challenges being faced by Nepal in achieving the goal of

Good Governance?
5. Analyze the inter-linkage between the rule of law, transparency and accountability to achieve

‘Good Governance’.

Community Work

There must be a retired public official (or bureaucrat or civil servant). Fix a meeting with him/her and
enquire about the problems and challenges s/he faced in giving fast, effective and prompt service
to the people. Write an essay on the topic “Problems and Challenges involved in providing Public
Services” by incorporating his/her views on it along with your other research.

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Lesson

8 Legal State

Legal state is known by different terms like rule of law, legal supremacy, state of law, state of
justice, state of rights and constitutional supremacy, etc. In legal state, no discrimination is meted
out to citizens by using (or not using) law. The power of the state is limited in legal state in order
to protect citizens from the repressive exercise of authority. There is no unlimited power given
in the hands of the Government (state) as it shall lead to abuse of power in crushing the citizens’
rights. In legal state, citizens have fundamental right to go to the courts against the brutal and
repressive action of the state. Law gives equal protection to all without any discrimination. This is
the kind of impartial and fair law that makes the legal state where justice to all is ensured without
fear or favor. Every citizen obeys and respects the law under the concept of legal state. “No
matter how big you are, bigger than you is the law” – rightly catches the essence of the legal state.
In legal state, Government and bureaucracy function in accordance with constitution and other
prevailing laws as they derive power and authority from these laws. It means that Government
discharging its functions at central, provincial and local levels and other departments/agencies
working for the government along with civil servants cannot function on their own and must
exercise their power and authority as mentioned in the laws.

Modern interpretation of legal state and rule of law has been given by Professor of English Law
at Oxford A. V. Dicey (AD 1835 – 1922). He was a British jurist and constitutional theorist. He
emphasized on having following three important elements (governing principles) in any legal state
that abide by rule of law:
1. Supremacy of Law: In legal state, law is supreme. All the political powers and authority

are derived from the law. Even bureaucrats (or civil servants) function within the boundary
(limitation) fixed by law. There is no place for free-will and unaccountable actions. For crossing
the limits fixed by law, even political executive is examined for his/her action and may be
punished if found guilty of violating law. Nobody is above law and at the same time nobody is
punished without application of law.
2. Equality before Law: Law does not discriminate between the people on any basis such as
financial status, post and positions in case a wrongdoing or crime is committed. There are no
different laws for different people for the same crime. Therefore, single punishment (one-type
of punishment) is given to an accused (if found guilty) irrespective of his/her economic and
social status (standing).
3. Constitution: Source of all the Laws: Constitution is taken as the supreme law of the land. All
other laws must conform to essential features of the constitution in order to be legally valid. This
is the reason constitution is considered as the law of all the laws. If other laws (or provisions of
a law) contradict any constitutional provisions then a law in question needs to be amended to
conform to constitutional guidelines, otherwise it will become invalid.
As a whole legal state differ from authoritarian or dictatorial state. Legal state is guided by ‘rule
of law’ but authoritarian or dictatorial state is ruled by law. There is a huge qualitative difference
between ‘rule of law’ and rule by law. Ruling the state by imposing law on the citizens most often
serves the interest of the ruler (governing class) and laws follow discriminatory approach without
having independent judiciary to decide upon the cases. Laws are biased and prejudiced in favor
of a particular political ideology and ruling class. This is not the case in the legal state which is

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governed by ‘rule of law’ where laws are fair, just and unbiased with independent judiciary to
protect the fundamental rights of the citizens and written constitution to act as guardian and
source of political power in the interest of the people.
Let us go through essential basic foundation-stones (building-blocks) of legal-state and its
objectives (goals/aims):

Building-blocks (Essential elements) Objectives (needs) of the Legal State
Democracy & Human Rights Democratically elected Government
Good-Governance, Checks and balances Accountable & Responsible Executive
Separation of powers Ending impunity of law
Defined (limited) power to Government Social justice & equality in real action
Independent & active judiciary Maintaining supremacy of constitution
Transparency and Accountability Peace and Order & Rule of Law
Equality and Inclusiveness People’s participation in Governance
Periodic Election Autonomy to judiciary & media

Legal state is known for constitutionalism and constitutional government aimed at guaranteeing
and protecting fundamental rights of the citizens by creating an environment of development. It
ensures happiness to the people. In context of Nepal, there are some major obstacles which have
not yet allowed our democracy to achieve the goals of legal state.

The Following are the major obstacles on the path of transforming (shaping) Nepal into a legal
state.
• Corruption, nepotism, favoritism and abuse of one’s own authority
• Non-implementation of all the decisions, sentences and orders given (delivered) by the Supreme

Court
• Emphasizing more on rights and neglecting one’s own duties
• Having been influenced by self-seeking and selfish tendencies
• Always looking for legal dimension of solution for any problem and refusing to recognize the

social and cultural dimension of it
• Absence of a fool-proof and fault-less system and administrative machinery to provide stability

and balance to national policy, implementation of plans and laws along with functioning of
Constitutional Organs and other institutions

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Corruption, Nepotism and favouritism are enemies to Good Governance
Nepal has a long tradition of political instability and that continued even in 21st century. Nepal
has been switching over from one political crisis to the next and that has not ended with the
promulgation of the Constitution of Nepal, 2072 BS. Because, successful implementation in its
entirety (wholesomeness) with regularly held elections at local, provincial and national levels will
play one of the most important roles to bring political stability and therefore establish legal state
in Nepal. The sole purpose of the political class has been centered on survival in the Government
without delivering ‘Good-Governance’. It is quite unfortunate for Nepal that average tenure
of each government has been so short-lived that no one has focused on building up the state’s
capacity. Even the country’s bureaucracy is deeply politicized. Years of political turbulence have
shattered the Nepali economy. For Nepal in order to emerge as a legal state, reshaping its roughly
30 million people with bewildering complexity into inclusive society is one of the top priorities
now. People of Nepal belong to more than 100 specific castes and ethnic groups. It is a challenging
task for the Government (the ruling establishment) to work for their political empowerment with
right kind of economic opportunities in the country by following a democratic process without
suppressing or sidelining (marginalizing) the people.

Measures (steps) for promoting Nepal as a ‘legal state’

At present Nepal requires capable, honest, skilled youth who are committed to rule of law and
are fully aware about what is happening at both national and international level. This quality
and kind of youth in contemporary Nepal will help promote legal state because right attitude
supported by right actions (behaviors) definitely help promote equality before law and respect
towards law.

Legal state cleans up politics and create right environment.
Following steps are specifically helpful in promoting ‘legal state’ in Nepal:
• Decisions, orders and injunctions given by the courts at all levels including Supreme Court of

Nepal must be obeyed and promptly implemented.
• Education and awareness campaign for ending corruption in public life must go around every

residential colony in cities, towns and villages. Just being dependent upon law to deal with
corruption is no doubt good but of course is not good enough to completely end the corruption
in Nepal.

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• Every section of the Nepalese society must understand that both rights and duties coexist.
Every right has corresponding duty. And no right exists without responsibility.
• Law of the country must promote inclusion (inclusiveness) and must not give rise to any kind

of exclusionary practices when implemented.
• Interpretation of law must involve the right context and objective of a law. Letters of a law must

not overshadow its underlying spirit.
• Application (implementation) of law must solve multi-dimensional problems – not just one

dimension or aspect of the problem such as social aspect of the problem.
• Government of Nepal must project stable political map for the country with reliable economic

development for the citizens based on clear, research-based policy and plans in different sectors.

Legal state stands at the foundation of Equality, Diversity, Inclusion and Duties
Words and terms you would like to know
STATE: STATE as a noun refers to human-population occupying a fixed territory united by common
factors such as language, culture, religion, historical background, political experiences or any other factors
into one body-politic (an organized Government) with independent sovereignty capable of taking all the
decisions and entering into international relations with other states.
Constitutionalism: Constitutionalism is the idea which proclaims the concept of the “Rule of Law” where
everyone is treated equally by law which is fair, unbiased and non-discriminatory. Constitutionalism
limits the power of government in order to protect the citizens. In this way, government officials are not
free to do anything they want and in any manner they wish. Constitutionalism describes and prescribes
both the source and the limits of government power.
Constitutional Government: In a truly constitutional form of government, public officials follow
constitutional rules and provisions. They do not violate the constitutional provisions without inviting
punishment. The fact that a constitution exists and it limits the government’s power makes the state
constitutional. Such constitutional governments are also called limited governments because the
constitution restricts the scope of their power over the people. However, many governments that have
constitutions do not practice true constitutionalism.
Repressive (adj.): exerting strict control on the freedom of others
Turbulence (n.): unrest, instability
Shatter (v.): destroy hope or belief, shock somebody
Bewildering (adj.): extremely confusing

Activities

1. Explain with illustrations why legal state is referred to as Government by constitution (law), not
by individuals.

2. List the problems being faced by judiciary in Nepal in effective implementation of its decisions
and orders.

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3. Make a list of the contributions that you can make at individual level in promotion of legal state.
4. Organize a debate on the topic “Rule of Law: Basic Foundation of Nation-building.”

Exercise

1. Define a legal state. Outline its main features (characteristics).
2. Highlight the basic elements in legal state as given by British jurist A. V. Dicey.
3. Briefly explain how legal state differs from authoritarian state.
4. Make a list of essential elements which make (constitute) a legal state.
5. Explain with various examples why a legal state is preferred by citizenries (citizens or common

people).
6. A legal state is known for constitutionalism and constitutional Government. Examine the

statement.
7. Do you consider Nepal a legal state? Discuss with help of arguments, examples and evidences.
8. Highlight the major obstacles being faced by Nepal in becoming or promoting a state.
9. Democracy is O.K. but political parties are not okay. Critically analyze it in the backdrop of

Nepal’s falling rank on rule of law and corruption and rising impunity in the country.
10. What are the steps (measures to be taken) to promote (build up) a legal state? Make a list.
11. You have been given list of all the countries on this planet with their characteristic features of

political-government and nature of their Government organs and institutions. How and on what
bases will you recognize whether a country is a legal state or not?

Community Work

Divide the students into at least five groups in the class. Ask each student to speak on basic conditions
required for a legal state.

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Lesson

9 Democratic Conduct

What exactly is democratic activity? What are the criteria to decide/identify an activity (conduct)
as a democratic one? Are there separate scales to measure a democratic activity (conduct) for
the Government and the citizens? Questions like these crop up in our minds, answers to which
lie in understanding the essential features of democracy and underlying principles (values)
which guide the democracy in action. Almost all the democratic countries around the world
follow and practice “representative democracy”. In representative democracy, the people elect
representatives to run the government and therefore the government remains accountable to
the people. And there are flurry of democratic activities (conducts) from both the sides on the
part of the Government as well as the people (citizens). Elected government frames policy and
plans in order to execute them so that representatives of the people continue to remain focused
on fulfilling the needs and expectations of the people. On the other hand, citizens have certain
basic rights (known as fundamental rights) which are protected by the constitution of a country
and other related laws.  Every citizen has the right to have their own beliefs, including their
religious beliefs, and to express what they think.    Everyone has the right to seek different
sources of information and ideas according to individual need and choice.   Everyone has the
right to associate with other people, and to form and join organizations of their own choice,
including trade unions or even political party.  Everyone has the right to assemble and to protest
government actions.  But, these rights in the name of democratic activities cannot be exercised in
any manner one wants as these rights are not unchecked and unlimited in nature.
Citizens have corresponding obligations to exercise these rights peacefully, with respect for the
law and for the rights of others. And this is what actually constitutes the democratic activities on
part of citizens.

Democratic activities are interactive conducts between the Government and the people.

Democratic Values and Principles

Democratic activities in a society are guided and influenced by democratic values and principles.
Let us understand about key democratic values and principles which guide the democratic
activities in brief:
1. People Participation in Governance: What is the role of the citizen in a democracy?

Participation is the key role of citizens in democracy. Citizen participation (people
participation) includes standing for (contesting) election, voting in elections, becoming
politically informed (aware), debating issues of various kinds, attending community or
civic meetings, paying taxes, protesting to save their interests and placing demands on

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the government and so on. Participation, therefore, makes democracy more inclusive and
vibrant. People participation at political level in a democracy must be peaceful, respectful
of the law, and tolerant of the different views of other groups and individuals. Free and
fair elections must be conducted on a regular basis in order for citizens to have continuous
participation in political governance.
2. Rule of Law and Supremacy of Law: Laws and procedures of a law apply fairly and equally
to all citizens. All citizens are equal before/under the law. Law does not discriminate a
citizen on the basis of their race, religion, ethnic group, or gender. Democracy is a system of
rule of laws, not a rule by individuals. In a democracy, the rule of law and the constitution
protects the rights of citizens, maintains order, and limits the power of government. There
exists supremacy of law in a democracy. No one is above the law, not even a king or an
elected president. Everyone must obey the law and be held accountable if they violate it by
following “due process of law”. ‘Due process of law’ follows the procedure established by
law and a citizen, when accused of a crime, does not lose his/her right to a fair, speedy, and
public trial. No one may be arrested, imprisoned, or exiled arbitrarily.    Anyone arrested
on charge of committing a crime is presumed innocent until proven guilty. A person’s guilt
must be proved in a court of law, through a fair, speedy, and public trial. 
3. Protection to Fundamental Rights: What rights do citizens have in a democracy? Every
citizen has basic human rights popularly known as fundamental rights that the Government
(State) cannot take away. The real conduct of a democratic government is to fulfill the desires
and aspirations of the people (citizens) and to protect their fundamental rights. A democratic
government helps citizens to exercise (enjoy) the fundamental rights guaranteed by the
constitution. In case of violation of any or more rights of a citizen either by State or private
person, Supreme Court has the power (original jurisdiction) to restore the rights or provide
compensation to a victim and punish the rights-violator(s).  
4. Pluralism: Pluralism in a democracy recognizes diversity and effectively manages it within a
political body (Government) for peaceful coexistence of different interests, languages, faiths
and beliefs and life styles (cultures). Political principle of pluralism encourages members of
a society to accommodate (manage) their differences by avoiding absolutism (following one
value or idea by rejecting others’ value or idea). Pluralism goes for deliberations by engaging
in dialogue in good faith and seeks reforms in political and social institutions for common
good. Diversity is natural to human society and therefore, all individuals do not hold same
thought, belief and perspective. This kind and level of diversity needs to be accepted for
making a democracy fully functional at all the levels. In a democracy there is no place for
tyranny of one ruler having one idea or forceful imposition of the rule by the majority
running the Government. A democracy has to remain open to accept differences (diversity)
which exist at the levels of ideas, thoughts, culture and tradition. And this is the essence of
pluralism in a real democracy.
5. Respect and Recognition to Minority: Generally, democracy is the rule by the majority.
The majority gets this right and authority to rule by obtaining more votes or cobbling up
the Government in a coalition with other political parties leaving the rest (others) outside.
Although a democracy requires a rule (government) by majority yet majority rule cannot
be the only expression of “supreme power” in a democracy. In democracy, today’s majority
can become minority tomorrow and minority of today will become majority tomorrow. All
it requires is the elections. “Win the elections and be the majority.” The majority cannot
impose its forceful rule and establish tyranny....known as tyranny of the majority. Therefore,
the majority must respect and recognize the minority’s rights and their genuine concerns.

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In a multi-party parliamentary democracy, a coalition government is formed by a majority
of parliament members by taking help from different political parties because no party has
the majority. In such a situation, majority cannot suppress the minority as political situation
will compel them to work with minority. The minority, therefore, must have the right to seek
to become the majority and possess all the rights necessary to compete fairly in elections
– speech, assembly, association, and petition. Otherwise, the majority would establish
dictatorship.
6. Inclusive Democracy (Political System): Diversity and inclusion (inclusiveness) are two
sides of the same coin in a democracy. Both diversity and inclusion exist together in a
successful democracy. Diversity demands approach of inclusiveness in political governance
because unmanaged diversity shall fail democracy. Diversity helps us understand the
people on lines of ethnicity, gender, language, religion, culture and so on. Inclusion as a
political approach (tool) in a democracy values, respects and supports the diversity (diverse
groups with their differences) by giving them due recognition and representation in political
governance (and in several political bodies or institutions). Inclusion involves bringing
together and harnessing diverse human populations (groups) in a way that is politically
beneficial, socially harmonious and economically productive. Inclusion in a democracy puts
the concept and practice of diversity into action by creating an environment of involvement,
respect, and connection amongst several human groups in relation to the Government. All the
diverse groups in a society have a feeling of belongingness to a political system in the inclusive
democracy. Several devices (methods) are used in the constitution for making inclusiveness as
practical as possible for empowering all the groups. Devices like positive discrimination, social
justice, state responsibility, Directive Principles of State and so on are real democratic conducts
(activities) in bringing several communities together in inclusive democracy (political system).
Thus, inclusion (inclusiveness) is one of the core values in a democracy which helps in harnessing
the richness of ideas, backgrounds, and perspectives of diverse groups to create a political system.
7. Strong Civil Society: Strong and politically informed civil society helps to institutionalize
healthy democratic activities and organizations (institutions). Democracy bestows human
rights upon the citizens. Civil society requires informed and educated citizens to develop
right political conducts in order to enjoy (utilize) these human rights. Civic education about
civic behavior, personal moral values, democratic values and principles play a great role in
generating and promoting democratic activities (activities) in a civil society. Importance of
civil society has increased manifold in modern democracy. Government alone cannot do
everything in a country as Government is busy with maintenance of law and order and other
works. Even for bringing development in a society at social and economic levels, Government
wants the citizens to cooperate and do the things voluntarily. Strong civil society brings
more people into active participation in both development activities as well as political and
social life. Therefore, a truly democratic government tries to foster the growth of civil society.
8. Good-Governance: Good-Governance brings both the Government and the people together
standing face to face. Every decision and work undertaken by the Government is known
to the people. People have right to criticize the Government decision if it goes against the
welfare of the society. Government has to fulfill the needs and aspirations of the people for
which it has been voted into power. For Government to be accountable the people must know
what is happening in the country. Therefore, Government follows the policy of transparency
to disclose everything that is in public interest. A transparent government holds public
meetings and allows citizens to attend. In a democracy, the press and the people are able to
get information about what decisions are being made, by whom and why. Only educated

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and politically informed citizens can compel the Government to provide Good-Governance.
And the Good-Governance is the most possible activity as well as outcome of a democracy.
9. Freedom of Speech and Expression: Freedom of speech and expression firmly demonstrates
democratic activities (conducts) by establishing the democratic values. Freedom of speech and
expression assists the citizens in professing, propagating and protecting their own political,
social, economic and cultural beliefs as well as activities. It further rescues the country out of
national or international danger by providing an appropriate platform of conflict-resolution
and then fashion (remodel) our democratic conducts accordingly. Freedom of speech and
expression (or free speech) is not one-sided. Free speech makes democracy functions as it
ensures that conflicting views can be voiced, heard, and understood. It encourages open
discourse and meaningful deliberation on public issues. Free speech strengthens the bonds
between political class and civil society. In absence of free speech, democracy will get
weaker. There is no doubt that freedom of speech and expression is necessary for a healthy
democracy but it is not sufficient. Strong democracies also require members who are willing
to listen to even contrary (opposite) viewpoints quite respectfully. This is how meaningful
discussion on any topic or issue evolves in democracy to reach a decision. This whole process
which begins with free speech and ends with arriving at a decision is called deliberation.

Democratic Activities (conducts): Democracy in Actions
Words and terms you would like to know
Tyranny (n.): cruel use of power, oppressive government
Bestow (v.): give or present something
Foster (n.): to encourage the development of something
Compel (v.): to force somebody to do something
Vibrant (adj.): full of liveliness or energy

Activities

1. Collect all the facts and do research on your own how democratic values have evolved in your
community and in what manner people in your community are involved (engaged) in democratic
activities. Prepare a specimen of a news report to be sent to one of the daily newspapers.

2. Divide your class into three groups and pick up three democratic principles and their related

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democratic activities from the above text to discuss them. In this way, every group will arrive at
their conclusion after having a thorough discussion. At the end, three group leaders – one from
each of the three groups - will share the conclusion in the class in the presence of Social Studies
teacher.
3. Nepalese society is on the path of political and social transformation now particularly after the
adoption of Constitution of Nepal, 2072 BS. Youth and young people in Nepal require specific
grooming so that they grow up to become ‘contributing citizens’. It is a great concern for all
of us to learn how to take part in civic life because we may find ourselves at the wrong side
supporting the corrupt, electing criminals and remaining silent after receiving favor from political
class. These are not actually democratic activities, rather these are subversive activities to derail
democracy in Nepal.
a) Collect newspaper reports to show how political leaders do not demonstrate democratic

values and conduct.
b) Make a wall magazine in your school to highlight the contributions of common citizens who

have shown healthy democratic activities for developing their community and society.
c) Make a list of suggestions which you think must be adopted to prepare youth and young

people in Nepal to be part of a real democratic culture.

Exercise

1. What is democratic activity? Explain with examples.
2. Have the democratic values and principles made a positive impact on our governance system?

Evaluate.
3. Analyze critically the inter-linkages (interrelationships) between the democratic values and

democratic activities.
4. What goals need to be set for an activity to become a truly democratic activity? Describe with

examples.
5. Explain how democratic conducts help in institutionalizing democracy.
6. Highlight the democratic activities/conducts exhibited by Nepalese citizens in the recent past.
7. How do neighboring countries influence Nepal to encourage or discourage democratic activities

on both the sides - the Government as well as the civil society? Critically evaluate with the help of
appropriate examples.
8. Present a detailed account on the nature and types of democratic activities with the arrival of
internet, social-media, smart-phone and modern electronic mass communication.

Community Work

There must be intellectuals living in your community. Find out how they have analyzed and evaluated
the constitution of Nepal 2072 BS, prevailing laws and other social beliefs to adopt them in their
democratic conducts (activities/actions). Write an essay on it titled as “Mismatch of Democratic
Principles with Democratic Actions” with your own conclusion.

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Lesson

1 0 Civil Society

Nature, Objectives and Characteristics of Civil Society

Civil society is a community of citizens linked by common interests and collective (group) activity.
Civil society is voluntary, self-operated, self-directed and organized joint life-activities which
work in the community and public interest without breaking the laws. It follows the guidelines
given in the constitution assisting people in exercising the fundamental rights and fulfilling their
duties. Civil society provides a shared platform for community involvement, deliberations on any
problem or issue and for peaceful assembly in a democratic spirit. Civil society is a forum where
full display of people’s desires, ambitions, social values and beliefs, and their commitment to
their community and nation come into light. Civil society is a voluntary movement entirely non-
governmental in nature which is active in every aspect of social and community life as per the
need of the people. Civil society assists and supports people in fulfillment of different aspects of
their collective and individual life. Civil society is comprised of groups or organizations working
in the interest of citizens but operating outside of the governmental and “for-profit” sectors.
Since civil society thrives on voluntary participation by average citizens, it does not include
behavior imposed or even coerced by the state. It, however, includes political activity engaged
in through non-profit organizations such as non-governmental organizations. Organizations and
institutions that make up civil society include labor unions, non-profit organizations, religious and
cultural denominations/organizations and other service agencies that provide important service
to society. These organizations and institutions give their service to society either voluntarily or
operate (function) on aid and grants. Since the prime motive is to give service to society not to sell
service for profit, they ask for very little in return just to manage their cost and meet the essential
expenditures.
Civil society works (functions) to achieve the following objectives (goals).
• To develop skill and efficiency by building up capacity in people to have better (productive)

standard of life,
• To create a forum for expressing desires, aspirations and needs of the common people and

infuse confidence (will-power) in them to realize (actualize) their needs and aspirations within
the framework of socially acceptable values,
• To explore alternative ways of bringing development by introducing and expanding the method
of participatory approach to development with community involvement,
• To develop social capital by building up on community-based network and cultural backgrounds
of the people for achieving the common good of society,
• To interpret the Government-policy for critical evaluation of social events in order to take
appropriate decisions in the right direction.

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Civil society is neither a part of the Government (state) nor a part of business (activity to make
profit). We know that organized economic activity run by the Government is called public sector
and economic activity undertaken by the business-persons (and business-houses) is known as
private sector. Civil society is neither public sector nor private sector; it is the “third sector” of
society sometimes referred to as ‘civil sector’. Civil sector is a term used to differentiate civil
society from other sectors like public sector and private sector which comprise a functioning
society in modern times. Let us take an example of Nepal as a functioning society comprised
of three sectors. First one is the public sector owned, managed and operated by Government
and its branches. Second one is the private sector which includes business and corporations.
Third one is the civil sector commonly known as civil society which includes the organizations
or groups of citizens (at formal or informal level) working (functioning) in the public interest but
not motivated by profit or directly connected with Government.

Based on above description, following characteristics (features) of civil society emerge:

• Civil society is a movement of self-motivated and self-disciplined people aimed at delivering
public good without breaking the laws.

• The core values of civil society are freedom, solidarity and social justice.

• Civil society is not the part (branch) of the Government but works for the objectives and goals
equally shared by the Government like bringing development in the society and working for
the welfare of the people.

• It operates at grass-root (community) level and works for uplifting and empowering the
marginalized community with their support and active involvement.

• Its main goal is to bring social and economic transformation in the communities particularly the
sidelined sections of the society (DALIT, women, children, etc) at local level and does not aim
for profits in return.

• Civil society does not get involved in politics or politicking because its area of interest is social
dimension of human life.

• It’s primary concern and the top most priority is to express human sensibilities of a society.

Civil Society – An Essential Feature of Nepalese Society

Civil society has been playing a very constructive role in Nepal since ancient times.

As early as the Vedic age (around 2000 BC), civic life in Nepal was full of rational knowledge,
critical debate over religious texts and experience of enlightenment. Both the ruler (RAJA) and
the ruled (PRAJA) were guided and governed by DHARMA (institutional duties and role),
SHASTRAS (moral and legal treatises) and SHASTARTHA (philosophical discourses) in a truly
democratic fashion as we find in the working of civil society today. Presence of civil society
has been traced back to Lichhavi period (approximately 400 to 750 CE). The GUTHIS of today
are the continuation of the GOSTHIS of the Lichhavi period. GUTHI is a group of people from
extended family in a community in order to protect and promote the general social, cultural and
economic interests of the community people. The Malla kings, after Lichhavis and before Shah
King Prithvi Naraya Shah, promoted literary societies, arts and aesthetics, temples, pati pauwas,
(resting places), public dharas (water sprouts), temples and so on for social and cultural revivial.
The panch kachhahari (council of five elders) is famous reminder of community involvement
for resolution of conflicts and adjudication of justice at local level. Civil society had played a

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supportive role in the unification campaign of Nepal under the leadership of King Prithvi
Narayan Shah. The king himself was the supporter of civil society as his famous doctrine from
the book DIVYA- UPADESH (Divine Counsel) “Nepal char jaat chhatis barnako phulbari ho”
proves the same. Prithvi Narayan Shah stood for the pluralist social space of the nation. Madhav
Raj Joshi founded the Arya Samaj (civic society or a society of noble people) in 1909 AD during
the anti-Rana movement with a view to eradicate superstitious beliefs, discrimination of all kinds
and in all forms, social prejudices and conservative thinking from the Nepalese society. Daya
Bir Singh Kansakar formed the Paropakar Sanstha (Charity Association). A number of literary
societies were formed inside and outside the country for the renewal of interest of the citizens in
public life and liberation of the oppressed and the marginalized (DALITS). The Sanskrit school of
Kathmandu in the name of Jayatu Sanskritam fluttered anti-Rana flags in 1947 AD.

Civil society in Nepal contributed a lot to creating and developing democratic culture at both
political and social levels in the country. Civil society was in the forefront in ending dictatorial
Panchayat Rule and prepared a ground work for both the Mass Movements in 2046 BS (1990 AD)
and 2062 BS (2006 AD). It is all because of unconditional support from civil society that political
parties could succeed in both the Mass Movements to restore the democracy. Constructive role of
civil society has further led to put pressure on the political parties to promulgate the Constitution
of Nepal, 2072 BS in order to institutionalize the democracy. There are a number of organizations
at present in Nepal acting to serve the objectives (goals) of the civil society. Organizations like
Maiti Nepal, Paropkar Sanstha, Nepal Red Cross Society, Netra Jyoti Sangh, etc support the
needy and people in distress projecting the humanistic face of larger Nepalese society. Such
kinds of voluntary humanitarian organizations offer the prospect for genuine civil society. There
are organizations (operating outside the Government) which are actively engaged in social
empowerment of indigenous and ethnic groups, women, children, other marginalized classes
and in general all the citizens of a society. Civil society has been active even in conservation and
preservation of natural resources like forest, rivers, mountains and so on.

Roles of Civil Society in general and in Nepal in particular

Without a strong, sensitive and sensible civil society, no democracy can function in its true spirit.
Following is the list of some of the important roles usually played by the civil society in general:

 Civil society makes politicians, traders and other classes responsible and accountable to
society.

 It represents the interest of those who have been left outside the political, social and economic
mainstreams by taking up their cause and raising their issues.

 It facilitates in bringing development at grass-root level (bottom level of community in rural
and urban area).

 Civil society by giving its valuable inputs (feedback) helps in making development-policy
(plan) which is transparent, decentralized and pluralistic in nature.

 It complements the Government’s efforts in spreading skills and knowledge to empower the
citizens.

 It assists in handling and overcoming different challenges being faced at the fronts of social
solidarity and development.

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 Civil society assists in making effective and favorable laws on community participation
(involvement) and empowerment of marginalized and weaker sections of the society.

 It fights for the democratic and individual rights of the people in order to get economic
security, land reform, gender equality and social rights addressed (fulfilled).

 Civil society helps in promoting and highlighting different aspects (dimensions) of
governance.

Nepal being a new democracy, civil society has a much greater role to play to check the political
parties and other non-democratic forces from exploiting the country and the people for their
personal power. The colorful pluralistic society of Nepal has diverse life-forms present in different
ethnicity, caste, gender, region, religion, language, etc. Civil society has a much greater role to
play in such a diverse society. There are several groups/organizations in Nepal which constitute
the civil society functioning in diverse fields of social, ecological and cultural areas with welfare
motive and public spirit.
The following are the specific roles to play and duties to perform by civil society in context of Nepal.
 To enhance the individual skill level and build up social capacity with a view to fulfill one’s

own needs,
 To encourage the society for preserving the social-values by following the same,
 To raise the voice in favor of clean-politics and against dirty politics which thrives on corruption,

favoritism, parochialism and opportunism,
 To continue to be active in allowing means and resources of the country such as capital, natural

and human resources, technology to be used for the people,
 To launch awareness campaign for being self-reliant rather than being dependent upon other

countries for our vital needs like energy, food and employment.
CSOs (Civil Society Organizations), CBOs (Community Based Organizations) and NGOs
(Non-Governmental Organizations) in Nepal are working to improve the opportunities for
common people and strengthen institutional cooperation in above lines. A vibrant civil society
can counterbalance the power of the state and check the abuse of authority by Government
departments and other public offices. Civil society does not allow local resources to slip out of the
hands of the local community and thus helps in overcoming poverty in rural areas of Nepal. Civil
society in Nepal has to remain committed to the original principle of service and public welfare
without being influenced by power and wealth. There are reports in case of civil society regarding
corruption and playing as a tool in the hands of dishonest politicians. This definitely hampers
the efficacy of the civil society in delivering common goods and creating social opportunities.
Over-concentration of CSOs and NGOs in urban areas, extreme politicization along partisan
lines, shortage of dedicated volunteers, poor membership base, overlap of activities and senseless
competition for clients and patrons are some of the weaknesses which have gripped the civil
society in Nepal. Civil society has to be extra mindful about the real objectives for which it exists
and make the Nepalese society a better place to live in and take pride in it.

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Words and terms you would like to know

Coerce (v.): to force somebody
Infuse (v.): to fill somebody with strong emotions like enthusiasm, confidence and all
Politicking (n.): political activity or political campaigning
Parochialism (n.): tendency of showing narrow local concerns at the cost of harming wider issues
Social Capital: It refers to use of quality, energy and resources available with diverse human populations
plus their closeness (relationship) with natural resources. Improved performance of diverse groups, the
growth of entrepreneurial firms, superior managerial performance, enhanced use of natural resources
due the evolution of communities and smart networking built on trust and confidence are called social
capital.

Activities

1. Explain with clear examples that civil society is voluntary, self-operated and self-directed
organization.

2. Prepare (construct) a dialogue between two friends on the topic, “Need and necessity of civil
society in context of Nepal”.

3. Make a table and mention in which areas civil society has been more effective and where it has
proved to be less-effective in Nepal.

4. Present a detailed account on types of reforms to be adopted and steps (measures) to be
implemented for making civil society in Nepal all the more effective.

5. Do research on kinds of civil society operating in your community. Highlight their nature and
composition while discussing about them in the class.

Exercise

1. Define civil society. Mention what are its essential components.
2. Civil society operates outside the governmental and ‘for-profit” sectors. Analyze with the help of

appropriate illustrations. Or,
Critically comment why civil society is called the “Third Sector or/and Civil Sector”.
3. Outline the objectives (goals) of civil society.
4. Highlight the important characteristics of civil society.
5. Critically analyze the different roles played by the civil society.
6. Civil society has always been the essential feature (part) of Nepalese society and has contributed

in developing a democratic culture in the society. Critically evaluate.
7. Nepal is a least-developed country with a newly institutionalized democracy. Outline the specific

roles that civil society is expected to play in Nepal in this situation.
8. Mention any four weaknesses of the civil society in Nepal. Also, give suggestions to remove those

weaknesses.
9. Explain what civil society needs to do for empowering the suppressed and marginalized class in

Nepal.

Community Work

Divide the students of the class in different groups. Assign them a task to conduct research and to
collect information (facts) on nature and characteristics of the civil society with real life examples.
Allow them to discuss their work in the class.

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Lesson

1 1 Peace and Order

Understanding the concept of ‘peace and order’ and its impact on the society:

What is Peace and Order? ‘Peace and order’ is a singular concept that means, “effectively
resolving the conflicts or disputes at political and social levels between the groups or individuals
in a society”. ‘Peace and order’ is the foundation for social development. Peace and order can also
be referred to as “peace and harmony”. We all know from our experience of life that ‘peace and
harmony’ brings a peaceful and stable order to a society. And ‘peace and order’ is a necessary
condition (a basic prerequisite) for the survival, harmony and development of mankind. In a state
of ‘peace and order’, all the important functions of the society operate smoothly without creating
hindrance in social, cultural, economic and political spheres of people’s life. Children are able to
go to school, patients are able to visit hospitals, workers and employees go to their workplace in
time, traffic at road and in air go on without trouble and so on.

Let us now understand the concept of ‘peace and order’ by breaking it in two parts as PEACE and
then ORDER. Peace is a state of harmony that lacks violent conflicts between the groups usually
organized based on political ideologies, religious thinking, professional and business interests,
caste, gender and any other lines of interest. In a state of peace, there is no insecurity to citizens of
losing life or property. As there exists absence of hostility and clash of interests both within and
from outside the country, individuals enjoy healthy interpersonal relationship with one another
and the Government of the country too maintains good diplomatic relationship at international
level. Order is the system that prevails only when peace in above sense takes root in a country and
hence this order systematizes the daily functioning of the people in the society at social, cultural,
political and economic levels. Order creates respect for law and justice, equality and fraternity
fill the atmosphere of society. Rule of law drives the society and judiciary receives utmost respect
from the men and women alike. In fact, the political order serves the true interest of all be it
at national level or international level. Thus, both peace and order combined together makes
a singular concept, which in all possibility is the result of “good governance”. Quite naturally,
‘peace and order ‘creates an atmosphere to enjoy fundamental rights and perform one’s own
duties in a society. Exercise of fundamental rights and performance of duties create development
in social and economic spheres not only for an individual but also for entire society. Every citizen
enjoys natural inherent right to survive as an individual in private capacity and to be a part
of a group level in public sphere of life. Everyone has the right to associate with other people,
and to form and join organizations of their own choice, including trade unions or even political
party.  Everyone has the freedom to engage in any trade or business within the purview and
parameter of laws because it is the fundamental right of the person. In the atmosphere of peace

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and order, citizens are safe and security to their personal life and property is ensured by the
State (Government). Citizens are able to utilize their full potentials as no obstruction is posed by
anyone including the Government on the path of their individual development.
In other words, good governance and rule of law are the litmus test for whether ‘peace and
order’ exists in the society or not. A society without peace and order will turn into a jungle-rule
full of disorder, disharmony and chaos. And in such a society no protection for human rights
would exist and nobody would care for fulfilling their own duty (obligation) in absence of peace
and harmony (order). Peace and order are enjoyed and shared jointly by members of a society
because one leads to another without gap (fault). Order (harmony) means existence of peace and
peace implies harmony (order) in humans’ life. ‘Peace and order’ relates to ‘Good Governance’
and ‘rule of law’. Peace and Order are twins that exist together. As order (also understood as
harmony) follows the peace in society and at the same time it generates an environment of peace.
This is how one leads to another and absence or eclipse of one casts a shadow over another. ‘Peace
and order’ is both cause and effect of smart (effective) political and social resolution of conflicts
between individuals and group of individuals to the mutual satisfaction of both the parties to a
conflict. The effective (long-lasting) resolution of conflicts results in less or no demonstrations,
strikes, closures and group (or individual) violence. Conflicts when effectively resolved results in
order (harmony) at social and community level. Feeling of being wronged and exploited is more
or less absent in the society where peace and order prevails.

Actually, both peace and order are the two sides of the same coin called “Good-Governance”. Peace
and order are taken together and are the effects of Good-Governance. The phrase “peace, order
and good government” is famous Canadian value in democratic politics which is comparable
to political ethos of liberty, equality and fraternity in France and “life, liberty and the pursuit
of happiness” in the United States of America. Thus, peace and order are essential outcomes
(byproducts) of Good-Governance in a democracy.

Schools as zones of peace: An Analysis on peace-building in Nepal

Education is one of the most powerful tools to transform both individuals and society. Education
is the right of every human being and the State must create an atmosphere of ‘peace and order’
to help citizens exercise this right. Without education, other human rights cannot be properly
exercised and development of individuals as well as society suffers. Education enhances the
possibilities of growth (development) by raising the prospect to realize the cherished values of
liberty, equality and justice.

Declare a school as Zone of Peace

Numerous children in Nepal are either out of school or become drop-outs in some point of their
school-life. What is the reason behind it? Poverty and political instability are the potent reasons.
And, poverty is the result of loss of opportunities created by political problems and bad-governance
within the country. Nepal has lost its ‘peace and order’ as a whole as mass strikes, disruptions,

164 Nova Social Studies Grade-9 >>

closures (BANDH) continue to happen without check. Schools in Nepal get badly affected by all
this political protest and even school-children are involved in it on political lines. Schools in Tarai
(the low-lying southern plains of Nepal) remained closed for more than three months in regular or
irregular manner due to Madhesh protest and the blockade of borders (in response to the demands
for the representation-rights of the ethnic groups) after the promulgation of the New Constitution
on September 20, 2015. Its effects were felt in other schools located in Hills too causing huge loss in
children’s education. This is the case of disruption of ‘peace and order’ (harmony) in a society having
adverse impact on education system. Hundreds of school closures are reported every year across
Nepal on one or the other pretext, causing hundreds of lost school-days. School walls are covered
with graffiti showing political slogans and agendas. Teachers, management and school-children are
pulled out of school to do political campaigning and stand for the political causes to get political
favors. Frequent strikes in educational institutions and their closures cast long-lasting psychological
effects on children and they gradually lose interest in study. This spoils the environment of teaching-
learning in schools. Therefore, there is an urgent need to enforce and treat the schools – as zones of
peace.

Peace and Education Go Together

Assembly of children in school for both education and recreation (play) is possible only if the
atmosphere of peace prevails in a society which is devoid of serious political conflicts. There exists a
political thought which is against any kind of political foul-play and disturbance in schools. Schools
are the centre of education and embody the growth for children who must be kept outside the
political influence during their growing-up period. Therefore, schools must be treated (declared)
as ‘zone of peace’ where teaching-learning activity must go on without break. There must not be
any kind (form) of discrimination, misbehavior, abuse, exploitation, mental or physical torture in a
school. School has only purpose to provide an environment for holistic growth of a child at body,
mind, heart and spirit level. Other activities are just banned within the school premises like holding
general meeting by political parties, political rallies and procession, any kind of political training
or things like that. Displaying slogans on the walls of schools and involving teachers for spreading
political propaganda adversely affect the education in schools. Obstruction in teaching-learning
activities by going for strikes and closures brings no good for children in schools. Threatening both
teachers and students and committing crimes of kidnapping, donations, black-mailing against them
is not the sign of prevailing peace and order in a society. No student should be the subject of bullying,
misbehavior, any kind of sexual offence and any other verbal abuse. In a situation like this, students
must bring the matter into the knowledge of teachers, guardians and parents. It is the combined and
shared responsibility of students, teachers and guardians/parents to create and maintain “zone of
peace’ in a school. Since students are in their formative stage, they must be groomed in a manner that
they contribute to society in creating and maintaining peace in the society. School curriculum and
compulsory and extra activities must have lessons of peace with its different dimensions like conflict
and its types, methods to resolve the conflicts, role of civil society, schools and the Government to
resolve it. Right from the beginning, children must be encouraged to get involved in creative and
discovery-oriented activities by making an intelligent choice for them instead of leaving them in
any company or putting them on violent display of emotions. Children’s minds are very tender and
sharp without any conditioning. They catch impressions in no time. We have to be extra-careful
before we expose our children to violent and aggressive situations which are likely to disrupt peace.
This is the time to end the culture of strike (BANDH) in order to guarantee fearless learning
opportunities within the school and college premises. The right to education is most at risk during
emergencies (natural calamities and humanitarian crises such as earthquakes, floods, land-slides and
prolonged political conflicts). Education is critical during such a situation of emergency and in times
of crisis because schools provide ways and alternatives to cope up with the problems and challenges

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emerging out of such emergencies. Schools keep children safe and protect them from risks including
gender discrimination, political affiliations, child labor, early marriage and son. Therefore, the right
mix of planning and its execution is needed to declare and enforce schools as zones of peace.

Words and terms you would like to know

Fraternity (n.): feelings of friendship and mutual support between the people
Parameter (n.): boundary, limiting factor
Potent (adj.): strong and effective
Purview (n.): scope or range of something

Activities

1. ‘Peace and order’ is the foundation for social development. Describe with examples.
2. Make a list of those events and incidents which have disturbed and disrupted the personal and

public safety in your community and neighborhood. Analyze them in a group discussion.
3. Give a detailed account of what kinds of roles you would play in maintaining ‘peace and order

(harmony)’ in a society.
4. Prepare a text (specimen) for a debate on the topic “Schools – zones of peace: Foundation for

building up children’s future”.
5. Educational organizations and concerned departments have time and again assured the schools

for their safety and security in giving educational services to students. Even then, schools have
been worst affected by strikes, closures and other kinds of interference. Schools are still waiting
for sincere implementation of “School as a zone of peace”. Critically analyze the reasons behind
it.
6. While the strike has become a common practice in Nepal to mount pressure on government, the
educational institutions are hit hard as they are forced to remain closed during the strike depriving
students of their inalienable right - the right to education. Discuss by giving suggestions at the
end how to end political interference in schools and educational institutions in the interest of
students.

Exercise

1. Explain the concept of ‘peace and order’ with relevant examples.
2. Give reasons why ‘peace and order’ is a basic prerequisite for development.
3. Peace and order are two sides of the same coin. Justify the statement.
4. A society without peace and order will turn into a jungle raj. Critically analyze with examples in

context of Nepal.
5. What do you understand by the term, School – as a zone of peace?
6. Give reasons why school should be declared as a zone of peace.

Community Work

What efforts (steps) have been made to maintain ‘zone of peace’ in your school? Consult your teachers
and the Principal to know the details. Write an essay in “Annual Bulletin” of your school on this topic
highlighting the views, comments and suggestions given by your teachers and Principal along with
your own observation.

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Lesson

1 2 Unity in Diversity

Meaning and nature of Unity and Diversity

Meaning of Diversity: Generally, diversity means differences but in the present context it means
collective differences. The collective differences mark off one group of people from another. These
differences may be of any type: biological, religious, linguistic, ethnic, regional, etc. For example,
on the basis of biological differences, we have racial diversity and on the basis of religious
differences, religious diversity exists. The point to mark here is that diversity refers to collective
differences and diversity is not uniformity. Diversity is opposite of uniformity. Uniformity means
similarity of some sort that characterizes a people (‘Uni’ refers to one; ‘form’ refers to the common
ways). So uniformity appears when there is something common to all the people, be it language
or religion or anything else. But when we have groups of people hailing from different ethnicity,
races, religions and cultures, they represent diversity. For all practical purposes, diversity means
variety of groups and cultures. We have in Nepal a variety of ethnic groups, of religions, of
languages, of castes and of cultures. This kind of variety enriches Nepal in its range and scale of
diversity at socio-cultural level.

Peoples of different cultures stand together in Units.
Meaning of Unity: Unity means integration and connotes a sense of we-ness (oneness). It is
a social psychological condition – the emotional bond which holds the members of a society
together. There is a difference between unity and uniformity because unity does not presuppose
similarity as uniformity does. Therefore, unity may or may not be based on (or born out of)
uniformity.
Meaning of Unity in Diversity: Unity in diversity means oneness in the varieties
(differences).  ‘Unity in diversity’ is not the unity born out of the uniformity and is not the kind
of diversity which leads to divisions in the society. Unity here has been carved out (or extracted
from) of the collective differences which exist in the society. Nepal is one of the best examples of
“unity in diversity”. Peoples with different ethnic/indigenous backgrounds, religions, creeds,
castes, languages and cultures live together with harmony (and fraternity). All of them are
woven (held) together just as many different flowers in a garland strung by a common thread
of national-integration. Since ancient times, cultural harmony has been the part of Nepal despite
having differences at the levels of religion, language, and culture. Respect to each other is best

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reflected in showing understanding for other’s language, tradition and festivals. Joint celebration
of festivals and traditions in Nepal is always encouraged. For example, CHHATH PUJA from
MITHILA community of Nepal is no longer confined to Eastern Tarai region. Other communities
from other districts of Nepal have begun to perform and celebrate CHHATH PUJA. Similarly,
both Buddhists and Hindus take part in many festivals together and visit the religious places
dedicated to either Buddhists or Hindus. Bisket Jatra, Machhindranath Jatra and Kumari Puja are
celebrated as a combined culture of both Hindus and Buddhists. Religious tolerance is exhibited
in every aspect of people’s life in Nepal. This is where and how we see “unity in diversity” in
action and in actual practice in the life of Nepalese people. Thus, “unity in diversity” is the true
spirit of Nepalese society which is best reflected in its national song.

Constitutional Provisions for Unity in Diversity

Unity in diversity is the essential feature of the Nepalese society. Constitution of Nepal, 2072 BS
has highlighted this feature of Nepalese society in no uncertain words.***All Nepali having
different backgrounds of castes, languages, religions, cultures, and living in specifically diverse
geographical region are woven (bound) together by the thread of unity showing same aspirations
and commitment to defend and safeguard Nepal’s sovereignty, geographical indivisibility, national
interest and prosperity constitute the NATION. (Article 3, Constitution of Nepal, 2072 BS)
***State of Nepal is committed to realize its social and cultural objectives by ending all kinds of
discriminations, exploitations and injustices prevalent in the name of religion, culture, custom,
tradition, or any other basis in order to create (construct) civilized and equality-based society where
nation’s unity is kept intact by keeping aloft the ideals of national pride, democracy, public interest,
social and cultural values without harming cultural diversity, social harmony and cooperation.
(Article 50 (2), Constitution of Nepal, 2072 BS)
***State of Nepal is committed to promote national unity by accelerating cultural exchanges between
the provincial units aimed at achieving mutual cooperation, tolerance and integration amongst all
the castes, sub-castes, religions, sects, languages and cultures. (Article-A or ‘Ka’ (2), Constitution of
Nepal, 2072 BS).
All the above provisions have been mentioned in Part-4 of the Constitution of Nepal, 2072 BS which
enumerates the Directive Principles of State Policy and State’s responsibilities. These provisions
clearly reflect STATE is committed towards bringing about and bring up the all inclusive-feature of
Nepalese society, “unity in diversity” which is essentially based on the principle of equal opportunity
to all and discrimination to none. Part-3 (from Article 16 to Article 46) of the Constitution of Nepal
2072 BS enumerates a range of fundamental rights which have been constitutionally guaranteed to
all the citizens irrespective of their backgrounds. Not only these provisions of fundamental rights,
special arrangements and positive discriminations have been made for vulnerable groups of the
society such as women, children, disabled people, DALITS (marginalized & suppressed class,
lowers castes) and other economically backward classes. In this manner, fundamental rights have
attempted to provide equal opportunities and rights to all the citizens irrespective of their caste,
class, religion and ability. Therefore, Nepal as a state has enough tools in the form of Constitution,
Acts (Laws) and other Rules and Regulations to bring all the people into mainstream life of the
nation.

Importance of Unity in Diversity

Following are the importance of Unity in Diversity:
1. Unity in diversity generates confidence amongst the individuals at different levels in the

society and boosts the morale of the people at workplace, street, public function, social
assembly (gathering), and community service and so on.

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2. It helps in bringing development at grass-root level as people from diverse backgrounds do
not hesitate to cooperate with one another and share their skills and expertise without any
reservations.

3. It helps in building up effective communication channel and thus facilitates in conflict
resolutions between the communities.

4. Unity in diversity assists in developing a common approach reached at only after intensive
deliberations amongst the community leaders to tackle or handle the problems faced by a
society.

5. It develops individual respect for each other based on personal qualities and merits, no
matter what is the background of an individual. Thus, it creates healthy human relations
and protects fundamental rights of the people on equal basis with no discrimination.

6. Diversity creates attractions and provides opportunities to study (know) about uniqueness
(special and specific aspect) of each of the several cultures. People from different fields like
sociology, anthropology, history, political science, rural development, etc find their source
of information for their academic research. In general, tourists from within and outside the
country love to visit the places full of diversify in human culture.

7. Diversity brings forth different kinds of arts, architectures, creations, thoughts and writings
and so on which form a rich heritage not just for a country (nation) but for the whole world.
Furthermore, it not only gives value to the existing rich heritages of the country but also
creates an atmosphere of imparting the lessons of composite culture to future generations.

8. It helps in forging ‘national integration’ by relying on the strengths which all the communities
have. Spirit of national integration honors the communities for what they can give to a nation
without criticizing their weaknesses.

9. Each community takes pride in its own culture and local skills plus technology it has
developed over the years. At the same time, all the communities are thankful to the STATE
(Government) for not degrading their community identity and for giving them recognition
and opportunities for offering services at national level for national cause. Be rooted in the
local, act for the nation to be national and be integrated to become global. This is the goal
for all the indigenous groups and other diverse societies looking for improving their status
without losing their identities. And, this is possible only in the practical execution of ‘unity
in diversity’.

10. Unity in diversity provides the best play-field for democracy to succeed in all its glory of
democratic values like liberty, equality and justice.

United we stand, divided we perish.

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Words and terms you would like to know

Integration (n.): equal access for all regardless of race, religion, caste, ethnicity, social class, etc.
Tolerance (n.): acceptance of different views and cultures (ways of life)
Irrespective of (adv.): without taking something into account
Furthermore (adv.): in addition
Bring forth (v.): give birth, produce fruit
Intensive (adj.): concentrated and serious (efforts)

Activities

1. Dr. Swami Prapannacharya from Kirat community wrote a book, “Bedma ke Chha? (What is there
in Vedas?)”. There must be a person in your community who knows a lot of things about other
communities like their religion, social structure, and traditions and so on. Meet that person and
explore the things which you do not know about other communities. Discuss your findings in the
class.

2. Nepal is a multi-religious, multi-cultural, multi-lingual and multi-caste society. Illustrate with
examples.

3. Make a list of all the provisions mentioned in Fundamental Rights, State’s Responsibilities and
Directive Principles of State Policy which relate with bringing all the citizens into mainstream life
of the STATE.

4. Write an editorial to be published in one of the dailies (newspaper) on the topic, “Unity in
Diversity – Nepal a real story”.

5. Justify how ‘National Anthem’ of Nepal has attempted to promote “unity in diversity.
6. What language do you speak and to which cultural group (named after ethnicity or religion) do

your family and relatives belong? Find out what language/s is/are spoken in the families of ten
more students (class-mates) in your school. Make a note of their ethnic and religious backgrounds
too. Write down all this information on a separate sheet. Compare your findings with those of
other students in your class.
7. Write the answers of the following questions on a separate sheet of paper and discuss them with
other students in your class.
Give at least one example, in each of the following areas, to show the blending of
A. Hindu and Buddhist or Hindu and Muslim or Hindu or Christian (European) cultures in

Nepal.
a) Architecture b) Literature c) Music/Lyrics d) Religious celebrations/Rituals
B. Have you recently attended a wedding or any other celebration in a community other than
your own? What has struck you as something different in style, pattern, rites, rituals or
anything else which is not found or observed during a wedding or other celebrations in your
community? Prepare a detailed account of it.

Exercise

1. Mark which of the following is the correct meaning of diversity.
a) Differences between two individuals
b) Similarities among the members of a group

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c) Dissimilarities among groups
2. Mark which of the following is the correct example of social diversity.

a) Emotional differences between men and women
b) Economic differences between the two neighbors
c) Differences of religious and cultural affiliations between two groups.
2. Mark which of the following is the correct meaning of unity in diversity.
a) Emotional differences between the individuals
b) Economic differences between the rich and the poor, the landlords and the landless laborers
c) Oneness (we-ness) despite having the group-varieties (differences) in a society
3. What is diversity? Explain with examples how far it prevails in the Nepalese society.
4. What is unity in diversity? Describe to what extent unity in diversity has got transformed into
‘national integration’ in Nepal.
5. All of us are Nepali regardless of our different languages, religions, cultures, genders and
capacities (abilities). Justify the statement with appropriate examples.
6. Constitution of Nepal is truly committed to protect and promote the basic feature of the Nepalese
society, “Unity in Diversity”. Critically analyze by giving illustrations of several provisions
enshrined in the constitution.
7. ‘Unity in diversity’ is one of the most desirable elements (constituents) in democracy to see
if democracy in real terms has succeeded. Outline the importance (significance) of ‘unity in
diversity’.

Community Work

Get the profile of the people who live in your community in terms of their diversity. Get them
categorized on lines of caste, religion, language they speak, festivals they celebrate, JATRAs they
participate in and other specific qualities which mark off one group from other groups. Meet the elders
and old people to know more about it before you finalize your report. Fix a meeting with a cultural
expert to have better ideas about it. Present the final report to your class teacher and get the grade.

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Lesson

1 3 Nationalism and National Issues

Meaning and Nature of Nationalism: Nationalism is the feeling (emotion) of loyalty and devotion
to one’s own nation (country). Nationalism (as an ideology) is a strong belief that the interests
of a particular nation-state must get priority over and above other things. Nationalism evolves
(develops) when a large group of people have been together for a long time in fight against
political evils such as suppression, dictatorship, colonialism, corruption or/and share the same
culture, history, language, etc. Let us take the example of Nepal which has gradually evolved as
a NATION all due to emotional relatedness (association) amongst the people with conjugation
of diverse mental traits and qualities of people who trace their origin to a common land. Nation
is not something that suddenly arises out of numbers of people living in a defined territory
ruled over by sovereign Government. A nation is a tightly-knit group of people that share a
common culture. Nepal is a land of different ethnic groups, castes, religions, genders, languages
and ecological regions. Yet, a common identity as being Nepali having shared values and traits
amongst all the people who are attached with this land has evolved as a common culture making
it a nation. No matter how different they are from one another, they have common symbols used
in their behavior, language and values and thus they emotionally relate to one another showing
commitment to the common cause and behave accordingly. This is nothing else but nationalism.
All the people have contributed to make Nepal the NATION. It is called upon every citizen of
Nepal to come forth in order to develop a balance in approach towards developing the nation and
coordinate with one another to defend the national integrity and unity of the country. Therefore,
we the people of Nepal must concur in our thoughts and converge in our actions for living with
pride and dignity in coexistence rather than striving for selfish pursuit of one’s own narrow
existence in the present context.
National Issues at Stake: Every country has some or the other national issues to deal on a priority.
Yes, these national issues may vary from country to country depending upon the structure of
political, economic and social system. Nepal faces scores of issues that require urgent attention
and they truly fit into the category of “national issues”. They are corruption, poverty, slow pace
of industrialization, backward agriculture, shaky democracy, shaky economy, and violation of
human rights, child labor, unequal regional growth, lack of response and advance preparation in
the face of natural calamities such as ‘earthquake’ so on and so forth.
Three national issues that we are going to take up here are political and socio-cultural in nature.
These national issues are National Integrity, Border Security (and Encroachment) and Self Respect
(Esteem). They demand urgent attention and thoughtful application of diplomatic, political and
socio-cultural expertise, methods and acumen.

A. Territorial (National) Integrity-Unity

National integration is an emotional attachment to the nation. It means that one identifies with the
region, culture, language and any other aspects, which strongly trigger the emotion of happiness
and sorrow in a person. National integration is also understood as territorial integrity and unity
where no factional forces are working from within the country or from outside. Nepal is an
independent, indivisible, sovereign, secular and inclusive and a complete democratic country.
United we stand, divided we fall – is the ultimate (core) message of national integrity. Every part
of Nepal is vital for its wholesome (indivisible) e xistence. Every citizen in the past and in the

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present has contributed to build this nation and this shall continue even in future for succeeding
generations to come. Citizens are born to play their role in nation-building and then they die
but nation continues to live....nation lives in the continuity. National integration draws in all the
elements of population on the scale of diverse criteria like race, caste, religion, gender, political
ideas, tribes, etc to create a cohesive life pattern which is closely linked together by spirit of co-
existence and zeal to contribution. It is through this process that people develop a deep sense
of ‘we’ feeling and belongingness and thereby a feeling of national loyalty. This feeling of unity
expressed through ‘We-Countrymen and fellow brethren’ promotes and safeguards territorial
integrity and national unity.

The following are the ways to safeguard and promote national integration in Nepal.
1. All the citizens regardless of their class, caste, religion, language, culture, gender and ethnicity

must contribute according to their capacity towards nation-building and need to remain alert
on the issue of national integrity.
2. No matter where we live in Nepal – Tarai (Plain), Pahad (Hills) or Himal (mountains), we have
to be the part of mainstream life of overall society of Nepal and the STATE.
3. Each one of us must stand, speak up and act upon any act of violations which go against our
national unity and integrity. This is our national pride and we must not sit back and watch
helplessly.
4. Local resources all over the country must be distributed to the local community and no community
must have ownership of more resources to the unfair exclusion of other communities.
5. A bunch of rights and privileges guaranteed by constitution to citizens of Nepal must not be
enforced by the STATE to discriminate one or some communities against the other, nor should
it favor one or some communities over the other. Constitution of Nepal must guarantee fair
treatment to all without discrimination and exploitation of whatsoever kind.

Empowerment of ethnic and indigenous groups in Nepal after the promulgation of the Constitution
of Nepal, 2072 BS is the real task in hands to achieve the cherished goal of “national integrity”.
The first President of Democratic Republic of Nepal, Dr. Ram Baran Yadav on February 18, 2012
expressed his opinion on “national integrity” in Kavre (Dhulikhel), “The national integrity should
be maintained while taking the nation towards federal structure. All Nepali people first wish to
introduce themselves as the people of the country where Lord Buddha was born and Mount
Everest is located then after we are the people belonging to Himal, Pahad and Madhes. Identity
of all castes, communities and religions and cultures should be guaranteed while restructuring
the State.”

B. Border Security & Border Encroachment

Every country has territorial demarcation which separates it from neighboring countries and
international water-mark (seas/oceans). Treaty of boundary limitations between the two
countries has international acceptance. Nepal is a landlocked country surrounded by China
from the north and by India from the remaining three sides. Border security of a country deals
with scientific management of border areas between the two countries, protection of the nearest
water-bodies (rivers, seas and oceans) and security-maintenance in and around the international
borders. Border disputes between the two countries crop up in absence of international (or
bi-lateral) treaty on border demarcation or clear/unambiguous border mapping or lack of
mutual understanding between the countries. Therefore, border disputes require immediate
resolution from the concerned Government to avoid any kind of border problem (insecurity) and
encroachment.

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Cause (reasons) of Border Encroachment

• Absence of clearly marked line (border) on the land,
• Absence of having border maps and related facts,
• In case, neighboring countries disrespect or simply ignore international border,
• In case of a river changing its course, if river is the demarcation of the boundary between the

countries,
• Having incomplete historical evidences and related documents connected with territorial

boundary of a country,
• Going for physical construction on/in the border areas between the two countries,
• Increasing pressure of population looking for settlement and spilling over the border areas
Effects (results) of Border Encroachment:
• Unchecked increase in human trafficking and drug trafficking
• Easy entry to each other’s country for the people with criminal background and doubtful

credentials,
• Disputes and controversies over utilization of means and resources (both human and natural)

between the bordering countries,
• Unfriendly and hostile relationship between the citizens of both the countries,
• Hostility between the bordering countries can transform into war.

Measures (steps) to be taken for (towards) border security

• Formation of “Border Security – Observation and Analysis Group” comprised of the members
of civil society, experts, former and present diplomats, academicians and so on from both the
bordering countries. Formation of the Boundary Working Group (BWG) is the right step to
resolve the border disputes between the two countries. BWG shall undertake to construct,
restore and repair the border (boundary) pillars including clearance of ‘No man’s land’.

• Formation of Joint Technical Level Boundary Committee (JTC) by both the countries to
recommend technical and practical solutions to border disputes.

• Engagement of both the bordering countries at diplomatic level to review the border security to
take stock of the existing problems and remove them if any.

• Taking up the issue of border encroachment and border security between the Heads of the
STATEs and Heads of the Governments help resolve it.

• By building up international pressure,

• By opting for different methods of resolving conflicts like mediation or arbitration,

• By agreeing to involve United Nations Organization (UNO) for finding out permanent solution,

• A system of regular survey and supervision of jointly shared boundary (border-line) conducted
by the officials of bordering countries every year to oversee and find out encroachment, if any,
on the boundary.

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C. Self-Dignity and Self-Respect

What makes Nepal – a country with self-dignity and Nepalese – full of self-
respect?

Right from the ancient times, Nepalese have demonstrated fierce commitment to their country
and are known for their loyalty to the cause they serve with fearless spirit. We all remember the
valor and bravery shown by our brave Nepali in Anglo-Nepal war (1814-16) with a great pride.
The likes of Balbhadra Kunwar, Bhakti Thapa, Amar Singh Thapa and many more generated
spirit of respect for their fighting skills in the British soldiers—the European known for their
fighting spirit thus saluted the art of warfare fought with the spirit of nationalism by our brave
sons. From then onwards, Nepali earned the nickname of ‘brave Gurkha’ or ‘GORKHALI’ all over
the world, which continues even today. GORKHALI now stands for courage, fearlessness and
matchless band of fearsome warriors. Gorkhali fought first and second world war and impressed
just not the allies but enemies too. Some of the countries feel honored having “Gurkha Troop” in
their hard-core artillery or combatant force. Countries like India, United Kingdom, United States,
France, Brunei, and Singapore still respect Nepal by recruiting Gurkhas in their army and Nepali
Gurkhas have not let them down.

Nepalese contribution in the field of sports has raised the nation’s pride because of the spirit and
emotion sportspersons brought in their individual performances. The 1922 Everest Expedition,
which included Nepali national Tejbir Bhura, was awarded the first Olympic gold medal for
Alpinism (climbing high mountains as sport) in 1924 for their outstanding feats on Mount
Everest. Bhupendra Silwal who died in 2012 at the age of 78 was the first Nepali Olympian who
took part in Tokyo Olympics (1964). Such was his spirit to run for the nation that he ran 42 km
race with bare feet without any shoes on his feet. While running, his feet were swollen and badly
injured but he was all fired up with the nationalistic pride and continued running. Two other
names come from the field of social work that makes every Nepali proud and fill us with self-
respect. First, Anuradha Koirala, founder-director of Maiti Nepal, a non-profit organization in
Nepal devoted to helping victims of sex trafficking, and second, Pushpa Basnet, the Founder/
President of Early Childhood Development Center (ECDC) and Butterfly Home, a non-profit
organization in Kathmandu (Nepal) dedicated to promote the rights of children living behind
bars with their incarcerated (imprisoned) parents. Anuradha Koirala received the Courage of
Conscience Award from The Peace Abbey in Sherborn, Massachusetts on August 25, 2006 and
won the CNN Hero of the Year award in 2010. She was also awarded with very prestigious
'PADMA SHREE' in 2017 AD by Government of India for her work. On the other hand, efforts of
Pushpa Basnet have received recognition in national and international Media when she won the
CNN Heroes Award 2012.

Self-dignity and self-respect are our very source of national identity and national pride. We are
blessed with diverse natural resources with majestic lofty mountains, a range of cultures reflected
in different languages, traditions, values, beliefs and rites and rituals. We must not waste away
our precious natural and cultural heritages because they are our identity and connect us with
the past as well as with our ancestors. Our behaviour and day-to-day conduct must reflect the
heritage to which we are the part of and the social values (beliefs) which we have over the years
been able to shape up as being Nepali. Having done this, external inimical forces will not get
chance and opportunity to play against us and there lies our greatness. It is incumbent on all of
us to live with self-respect and self-dignity by preserving our national unity and integrity.

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Words and terms you would like to know

Zeal (n.): enthusiasm
Mediation (n.): working with both sides in a dispute in an attempt to help them to reach an agreement
Arbitration (n.): the process of resolving the disputes between people or groups by referring them to a
third party, either by mutual agreement or in accordance with law
Incumbent (adj.): obligatory

Activities

1. All the Nepalese people must strive for mutual coexistence rather than opting for individually
confined self-existence. Explain with illustrations.

2. Illustrate the steps helpful in promoting national integrity.
3. Let us assume that you are the Minister of External Affairs of Nepal. Explain the steps you would

take to solve the border disputes.
4. Nepalese people love to live with self-pride and self-respect. Justify the statement in light of

historical reality by citing appropriate evidences.

Exercise

1. Define nationalism. Explain how nationalism integrates the nation.
2. True nationalism rids a nation (or free from) of corruption and helps deliver the Good-Governance

in favour of public welfare. Critically analyze with appropriate examples.
3. Without the emergence of NATION, there is no place for nationalism. Prove the statement with

appropriate examples.
4. What is territorial integrity? Explain its essential features.
5. Outline various ways to safeguard and promote national integration in Nepal.
6. List the various causes and effects of border encroachment.
7. What measures (steps) need to be taken for border security and its management in Nepal.
8. Self-dignity and self-respect are our very source of national identity and national pride. Comment

with suitable examples.

Community Work

Find out various provisions in the Constitution of Nepal, 2072 BS which aim at promoting national
integrity in our country. Prepare a report on it after having consultations with intellectuals, teachers
and other experienced persons in your society along with your own study of the Constitution.

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Unit

6

Our Earth

Learning Objectives:

At the completion of this Unit, students will be able to:
 Understand the concept of longitudes and their role in determining time and date
 Describe the topographical features, climate, vegetation and source of drinking water

with its distribution across different parts of Nepal
 Identify different types of scales and learn to use the same on Map and Atlas
 Gain essential information of Asia, Europe and Australia relating to natural and

physical features, economic and socio-cultural profile with the comparative analysis in
relation to Nepal

Lesson

1 Longitude and Time

Our Earth: Understanding its Movement....Rotation & Revolution

Our Earth: an Introduction

The Earth (planet) is the third  planet  in  distance from the Sun in the solar system and ranks
the fifth among the eight planets so far as size is concerned. The diameter of the earth is 12,756
km and its equatorial radius is 6,378 km. The average distance between the earth and the sun
is 150 million km (93 million mi.). Actually, its equatorial region is spherical and poles are flat
because the earth is not perfectly round but elliptical in shape. Earth is tilted at 23.5° on its axis
to its orbital (revolution) plane resulting in greater heating and more hours of daylight in one
hemisphere which is tilted towards the SUN in comparison to another hemisphere which is tilted
away from the SUN and this tilt is also responsible for the cyclic change of season. In a situation
such as this only the equator is always at the same distance and hence receives almost equal
amount of sun-rays but as one moves toward the poles, a six-month continuous day (sun-light)
and a six-month night (absence of sun-rays) occur.

Revolution and rotation

Movement of the earth around the sun from east to west direction (clock-wise) is known as
revolution movement of the Earth. Earth takes approximately one year (365 days 5 hr 48 min 46
sec. or 365.25 days) to make one complete revolution around the sun at a speed of 108,000 km/h.

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Earth’s orbital path (revolution-path) is not a perfect circle, rather it is slightly elliptical (oval-
shaped). At maximum distance on its orbital (or revolution) path, earth is about 152 million km
from the Sun and at minimum distance the earth is about 147 million km away from the Sun. Had
the earth orbited the Sun in a perfect circle, it would have always been the same distance from
the Sun.

Spinning movement of the earth on its own axis from west to east (anti-clock wise direction)
is known as rotation movement of the earth. Axis of the earth is an imaginary line that passes
through the North and the South poles of the planet. The Earth rotates about this axis once each
day (approximately 24 hours) at a speed of 1670 kilometers/hour (1037 miles/hr) around the
equator and this speed decreases towards the poles. Earth’s rotation period (the time taken for
one rotation) with respect to the Sun is called a sidereal day which is 24 sidereal hours (23 hours
56 minutes on a normal clock) and our clock time is fixed on the earth’s rotation with respect to
the SUN.

Latitude and Longitude: Relationship between Time and Longitude

Both latitudes and longitudes are used in coordinate system in order to know the position or
location of any place on Earth’s surface. Latitudes are angular measurements ranging from 0° at
the equator to 90° at the poles which give location of a place on the earth north or south of the
equator (0° latitude). The Equator (0° latitude) is a great circle that divides the earth into northern
and southern hemispheres and parallel to the equator are several imaginary circles becoming
smaller and smaller as they proceed closer to the poles (north and south poles). Thus, parallels of
latitudes are east-west lines (running circles) getting smaller in arc towards the poles.
Longitudes are imaginary lines between the North and the South poles that cross the equator at
right angles. Longitudes are called meridians as they are designated by the degrees of longitude
varying up to 180° either east or west of the prime meridian (0° longitude). Thus, longitudes are
series of half-circles (meridians) running north and south from one pole to another and crossing
parallels of latitude (east-west-running circles) at right angles (90°). Longitude determines the
location of a place east or west of a north-south line called prime meridian and measures locations
in angles ranging from 0° at the prime meridian to 180° at the International Date Line.

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A prime meridian (in a geographical coordinate of 360°-system) is a line of longitude at 0° that
meets its just opposite meridian, another line of longitude at 180°. Hence, it forms a great circle
that divides the earth into two hemispheres namely eastern hemisphere and western hemisphere.
Each degree of latitude and longitude is divided into 60 minutes, and each minute divided into
60 seconds.
Unlike the equator, a prime meridian is an arbitrary line decided in 1884 AD at the International
Meridian Conference held in Washington D. C. which crosses through Royal Observatory,
Greenwich located in London. GMT (Greenwich Mean Time) is based on the solar time measured
at the Royal Observatory in Greenwich, London and especially used by BBC World Service and
countries of the Commonwealth including Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, India, Pakistan
and Malaysia and in many other countries of the eastern hemisphere. Thus, GMT has managed
to place itself as International Standard Time.

International Date Line

The International Date Line (IDL) is an imaginary line which follows the meridian of 180° longitude
running from the North Pole to the South Pole and demarcates the shift of one calendar day to
the next one. Thus, the International Date Line is located at 180º line of longitude from east or the
west of the Greenwich Meridian. IDL in reality crosses through the middle of the Pacific Ocean
separating two consecutive calendar days. It means that the date/day immediately to the left of the
International Date Line is always one day ahead of the date (or day) immediately to the right of the
International Date Line in the Western Hemisphere. For clear understanding, look at the following
picture:

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Let us understand it through another example. A person who travels around the world from east to
west would lose one hour for every 15° of longitude crossed, and would lose 24 hours for one circuit
of the globe from east to west if a day/date is not added while crossing the IDL. In contrast, west-to-
east globe-trotting gains an hour for every 15° of longitude crossed and requires deduction of a day/
date (24 hours) while crossing the IDL. This is the reason, the IDL must be observed in reference to
the Earth’s time zones: on crossing it in either direction, the calendar date is adjusted by one day.

International Date Line (IDL) has not been chosen to be a perfectly straight line and has been
moved slightly in zigzag manner in Bering Strait (Bering Sea) and in Pacific Ocean in order to avoid
confusions on land areas (countries in the Pacific Ocean) with regard to changing day/date.

Precisely, IDL bends to include all of Kiribati, Samoa, Tonga and Tokelau in the Eastern Hemisphere.
It is interesting to observe that Tonga and American Samoa have the same time but are one day apart
because American Samoa lies in the Western Hemisphere, on the opposite side of the International
Date Line from Tonga. Thus, traveling towards the east across the IDL changes a day/date after
being subtracted and traveling towards the west across the IDL changes a day/date after being
added.

Class-Work: As you observe in above figure where IDL has been curved towards right hand
side, carefully study ATLAS to spot out islands in Pacific Ocean from where IDL is crossing.
Also discuss the concept of gain and loss of a day on either side of the IDL under the guidance
of your subject teacher. Do you find it confusing when connected with gain or loss of time along
the longitudes particularly from Prime Meridian? Make yourself clear with the help of your class-
mates or with your Social Studies teacher.

Longitudes and Time:

There are altogether 360 longitudes on the earth, each representing a degree. The earth completes
a rotation covering 360° longitudinal distance in a day i.e. 24 hours. This means that 1° of
longitudinal distance gets covered in 4 minutes time and it takes one hour (60 minutes) to cover
15° longitude distance on the earth. Actually, our earth has been divided into 24 time zones with
an interval of 15° that equals 1 hour.

the following guidelines are important while calculating adjustment of time along the longitudes
of the earth:

1. The earth rotates on its axis from west to east in 24 hours. Therefore, the SUN appears to rise
from the east and appears to set in the west direction. Places located in the east get sun-rise
earlier than the places located on the west. This is why time is faster (and time is added)
on longitudes located towards the east direction and time gets slower or lost on longitudes
located towards the west direction.

2. One hour (time duration) = 60 minutes and 1 minute = 60 seconds. Similarly, 1° longitude
= 60′ minutes longitude and 1′ minute longitude = 60′′ seconds longitude. In 24-hours time
duration, 12 o’clock is the noon after which time is denoted in ‘PM’ until it touches 12 o’clock
midnight and after 12 o’clock midnight, day is changed too like from Saturday to Sunday or
from Monday to Tuesday and vice-versa. Time denotation in 24-hours time duration shows
as ‘AM’ from 12 o’clock midnight up to 12 o’clock noon.

As the earth rotates, the people living along the longitude experiencing sunrise get carried
around to the noon position followed by sunset, then midnight, and finally back to sunrise
again during the 24 hours of the day.

180 Nova Social Studies Grade-9 >>

What we observe here is that for places separated by 15° of longitudes, the local (or actual)
time is an hour different. It further means that local or actual time is an hour later as one goes
towards the east and an hour earlier as one goes towards the west.

3. There exists a direct relationship between arc (meridian of longitudes) moving across the
poles and time so much so that 1 minute of time equals 15 minutes of arc (15′ minutes
longitude). Time adjustment while travelling around the world (globe) is done on different
longitudes exactly on this basis. Time adjustment of 4 minutes is required while covering 1°
longitudinal distance in rotational movement of the earth. Accordingly, it takes 1 minute time
to move (cover) 15′ minutes longitude and thus time taken to cover 1′ minute (60′′ seconds)
longitude distance on earth is 4 seconds.

4. Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) at 0° longitude (also known as Prime Meridian) is taken as
“international reference time” (International Standard Time – IST) for creating “time zone”
or for referring to any local or actual time at a particular longitude or to find out difference
(distance) in longitudes. For example, if the difference between GMT and local time is three
hours, then the difference (distance) in longitudes must be 3 x 15°= 45° Longitudes as it
takes one hour to move 15° longitudes. Let us take two places at different longitudes, and
time at one of the places is known, we can easily figure out the longitude of the second place
- if the local time of another place is given to us. Suppose that it is 9 AM in Mato Grosso
(Brazil) located at 60° W L and a friend from Sao Paulo (Brazil) tells by telephone that it is
already 8 AM there. It clearly indicates that longitudes of above two places are separated
by one hour (60 minutes) difference and hence have difference (distance) of 15° longitudes
between them. Since time is one hour earlier in Sao Paulo than the time in Mato Grosso, Sao
Paulo is located at 45° W L [60° – 15° = 45° L].

Few examples of calculating time on longitude:

Example 1: What will be the local or actual time of Tikapur (Kailali, Nepal) located at 81°E longitude,
when it is 4.30 PM in Bhavnagar (Gujrat, India) located at 72° E longitude?
Solution:
 First Step: Longitudinal difference (distance)
Since both the longitudes are located in the same hemisphere, longitudinal distance will be 81°–

72°= 9° longitude.

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 Second Step: Time-difference
Since it takes 4 minutes to cover 1° longitudinal distance on earth’s rotation, total time difference
here will be 9° x 4 = 36 minutes.
 Third Step: Time-adjustment
Since Tikapur at 81°E longitude is located towards the east of the Bhavnagar located at 72°E
longitude, 36 minutes will be added to 4.30 PM and the actual time at Tikapur in Nepal will be 5.06

PM (4.30 PM + 36minutes).

Example 2: What will be the local or actual time and day in Brisbane (Australia) located at 150°15′E,
when it is 11 PM Tuesday in Ouagadougou (Burkina Faso) at 1°32′ W?
Solution:
 First Step: Longitudinal difference (distance)
Since both the longitudes lie in opposite hemispheres, longitudinal distance in this case will be
150°15′E +1°32′ W = 151°47′ = (151° + 47′) longitudes.
 Second Step: Time-difference
Since it takes 4 minutes to cover 1° longitudinal distance and 4 seconds to cover 1′ minute longitude-
distance on earth’s rotation, total time difference here will be 151° x 4 minutes + 47′ x 4 seconds
which totals as 604 minutes + 188 seconds (3 minutes and 13 seconds) = 607 minutes and 13 seconds.
Conversion into approximate time will come as 10h12m13s = 10.12.13 H time-difference.
 Third Step: Time-adjustment
Since Ouagadougou (Burkina Faso) at 1°32′ W is located towards the west of 150°15′E (Brisbane),
10h12m13s (10.12.13 H) will be deducted from 11 PM (means 12 +11 = 23 hours of a day) and thus
local or actual time at 1°32′ W longitude will be 23.00.00 H – 10.12.13 H= 12.47.47H
(12.47.47 PM, Tuesday)

Example 3: A dubious telephone call was tracked down on 2.30 AM, Friday in Jaffna, Sri Lanka
situated at 80°E longitude. Further investigation by army intelligence discovered that this phone
call was made from a place on the same day there at 7.45 AM. find out the missing longitude in order
for police to nab the criminal/miscreant.
Solution:
 First Step: Time-difference
Since the call was made on the same day from a place that clocked 7.45 AM at that time, time
difference between the two places…one from where call was made and the other where call was
received will be 7.45AM –2.30 AM = 5.15 H. = 5 hours and 15 minutes = 5 x 60 + 15 = 315 minutes.
 Second Step: Longitudinal difference (distance)
Since it takes 4 minutes to cover 1° and 4 seconds to cover 1′ longitudinal distance on earth’s rotation,
total longitudinal distance here will be 315 ÷ 4 minutes = 78° + remaining 3 minutes = 78° + 180
seconds = 78° + 45′= 78°45′.
 Third Step: Longitude-determination
Since call was made on the same day from a place having the local time 7.45 AM at that moment,
time difference of 5.15 H has come to have the longitudinal difference of 78°45′ which requires to be
added to 80° E in order to get a longitude being searched for and thus that longitude will be80°
E+ 78°45′ = 158°45′ E longitude. Thus, the dubious call received in Jaffna was made from a place
located at 158°45′ E longitude possibly from Papua New Guinea and Solomon Islands lying above
eastern edge of Australia.

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Check Your Progress

1. Briefly introduce Prime Meridian, GMT and IDL.
2. Why does International Date Line move in zigzag manner?
3. A person who travels around the world from east to west would gain one hour for every 15° of

longitude crossed. Why is this so?
4. A globe-trotter would lose 24 hours for one circuit of the globe from east to west if a day/date

is not added while crossing the IDL. Give reason.
5. Unlike latitudes, all longitudes are half circles and of equal lengths. Why is it like this?
6. In which conference and when was the Prime Meridian selected to standardize the time all over

the world?
7. It is exactly 2.48 PM in London and the time in Helsinki (Finland) located at 25°E is one hour

and forty minutes (1.40 H) ahead of that in Gao (Mali) located at 0° longitude. Find out the time
in Helsinki? (Ans. 4.28 PM)
8. Calculate time and day in Rio de Janeiro (a city in southeastern Brazil) located at 43°W
longitude when it is 2.30 AM, Saturday in Riyadh (the capital city of Saudi Arabia) located at
47°E longitude. (Ans. 8.30 PM, Friday)
9. Your elder brother currently in Ames (City in Central United States) located at 90°W gets a job
at gas-station to earn his livelihood in his migration and is desperately looking forward to share
this news with you in your hotel room in Rome (Italy) located at 15°E longitude. Your elder
brother sends off the message from Ames at 5.38 AM, Sunday early in the morning through
FACEBOOK and is hoping you to get in a direct chat from Rome enquiring about your further
plan in Europe tour. Figure out the time and day in Rome. (Ans. 12.38 PM, Sunday…Lunch-
time)
10. It is 7 am, Monday in California (State in western United States). Your uncle in California is
planning to video-call your cousin sister …his own daughter pursuing her study in Finance
Management from University of New South Wales, Sydney (Australia). California is in the time
zone at 120°W and Sydney is in the time zone at 150°E. Calculate the time and day when video-
call is received by your cousin sister in Sydney. (Ans. 1 PM, Tuesday in Sydney)
11. Nepal extends from 26°22’N to 30°27’N latitudes and from 80°4’ E to 88°12’E longitudes.
Calculate the exact time difference in Nepal from east to west.
12. What will be the time and day on Port-au-Prince (capital city of Haiti) located at 73°W when it
is 1.52 AM, Wednesday in Paris (France) located at 2°21′ E? (Ans. 8.50.36 PM Tuesday)

Understanding Local Time and Standard Time

Local time is the time based on a longitude (meridian) passing through a specific place (village, town
or a city) regardless of the time zone in which that place actually lies. The local time in a specific place
can easily be compared to that of another place lying to the east or west. Local time at a particular
place has long been measured from the SUN’s transit over the meridian (or that longitude) at that
place designated as noon…..overhead SUN when shadow is not cast at all. Travelling from one
town/village to another town/village would require adjustment of one’s own pocket watch upon
arrival. Local time brought a kind of uniformity and certainty in social and economic life of the
residents of a place (village/town/city). People in general could conveniently attend to essential or
leisure affairs of a place all due to local time.

Now-a-days, every country has its standard time or several time zones according to which reference
to time in several places of a country is made. But, prior to the late nineteenth century, time keeping
(or time reference) was entirely a local phenomenon and each town, let us take for an example,

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would set their clocks to noon when SUN was overhead casting no shadow at all. Town-clock was
the only authorized or official time in reference to which all citizens were expected to set their pocket
watches/clocks. Clock-makers carrying a correctly-matched watch with local time themselves were
thriving by offering their services as ‘clock menders/setters’ and they also used to provide home-
service of adjusting the clocks with the accurate time on weekly basis.

Understanding Standard Time and Time Zones

Standard time is a uniform time fixed by law or custom for places located in and around the same
longitude established in a country (or region). Since standard time is used as civil time, it is tuned
in to a single time standard in a country or geographical area. For example, standard time of Nepal
is fixed on 86°15›E longitude passing through Gaurishankar Himal (mountain peak) Dolakha
District, 5 hours and 45 minutes (86.25° x 4 minutes = 345 minutes) ahead of the GMT (Greenwich
Mean Time). Local time difference calculated for longitudinal expansion (distance) from east to
west in Nepal is somewhere around 32 minutes. Therefore, Nepal has only one standard time fixed
on 86°15›E longitude. In case of India, Indian Standard Time (IST) has been fixed on 82°30› E
(or 82.5°E) longitude passing through Shankargarh Fort, Mirzapur (Allahabad District in Uttar
Pradesh). India’s expansion from east to west covers over 28° of longitude causing Sun-rise and
Sun-set almost two hours earlier on eastern border of India than in the Rann of Kutch in the far
west. So far, Government of India has refused to adopt multiple time zones in the country officially.
Though time in China follows a single standard time (eight hours ahead of Greenwich Mean Time),
China is spread over in five geographical time zones. Beijing Time is CST (China’s Standard Time).
Russia, the world’s largest nation that borders European and Asian countries as well as the Pacific
and Arctic oceans, has opted for 11 standard time zones while the United States uses nine standard
time zones and Canada follows 4 different time zones.

Concept of Time Zones

A time zone is a region following a uniform standard time for socio-cultural, legal-political and
economic purposes. Today, all the countries follow one or more standard time zones for secular
purposes and adjust their country time with half an hour or quarter of an hour deviations from
standard time. But, countries like China and India use only one time zone even though the extent
of their territory far exceeds 15° of longitude means more than one hour of deviation. World has
been divided into 24 time zones, each one for 15° of longitudinal difference (distance). This is
based on understanding of earth’s rotation on its axis (covering 360° longitudes) once every 24
hours and hence each hour the earth rotates one-twenty-fourth of a circle or 15° of longitude on
the earth is covered.

GMT and UTC

Most commonly, time-zones are based on Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) clocking on 0° longitude
(the Prime Meridian). Presently, UTC (Coordinated Universal Time) is getting popular because it
uses highly accurate atomic clocks combined with the Earth’s rotation. The time calculated (ticked)
on atomic clocks under UTC is adjusted on ‘uniform time scale’ because the rate of rotation of the
Earth keeps on varying (as Earth’s rotation is slowing down) and is not constant. Therefore, leap
seconds will have to be added more frequently in the future. However, Greenwich Mean Time (GMT)
calculated in reference to “mean solar time” is still very popular in making adjustment to time zones
and fixing standard time of a country. Mean solar time is equal to the length of ‘mean solar day’. The
duration of daylight keeps on changing during the year but the length of a mean solar day is almost
constant. We know that apparent (or true) solar time is based on the actual motion of the SUN and
the “apparent solar day” is the interval between two successive returns of the SUN onto a particular
longitude (local meridian). The length of solar day is not uniform throughout the year as a result

184 Nova Social Studies Grade-9 >>

of which accumulated deviations of 16 minutes from “the mean” are registered during a year. This
non-uniformity of the length of solar-day throughout the year is all due to elliptical orbit of the Earth
in which it revolves. Earth’s orbit is not a circle but it is of oval shape with slightly longer flatter
sides called ellipse. Therefore, the Earth moves faster when it comes nearer the SUN (perihelion)
and slower when goes farther from the SUN (aphelion) resulting in differences in the length of a
solar day.

Adjustment of longitudes across the globe for time adjustment
With the arrival of faster mode of communication such as rails and air-planes in 19th and 20th
century respectively, it was no longer practical and feasible to adjust time every now and
then while moving from one town/city/village from another town/city/village with a view
to conduct business, politics or any other socio-cultural activity. Local mean time, until then,
had adopted various times/dates in several countries because each town or city kept its own
meridian leading to a situation where locations separated by one degree longitude had a time
difference of four minutes. This situation had created practical difficulty in channeling and
regulating human behavior. Framing the schedules for railway-stop was really confusing in 19th
century because each stop in different town/city had different local times. In order to overcome
this confusion, the system of worldwide time zones originally proposed by Sir Sanford Fleming
(Canadian) in 1878 AD was introduced. Later, International Prime Meridian Conference held in
Washington D.C. in 1884 AD standardized time with reference to prime meridian 0° longitude
passing through Greenwich (LONDON), England and divided the whole world into the 24 time
zones based on the prime meridian to bring predictability, certainty and stability in human affairs
at both individual and institutional level. “British railways” was the first organization to adopt a
standardized time system in 1847 AD by aligning railway time to Greenwich Mean Time (GMT)
followed by rest of the world in due course of time.
Thus, the 24 time zones employ 24 standard meridians of longitude (lines running from the North
Pole to the South Pole, at right angles to the Equator), each separated by 15° longitudinal distance.
In fact, these meridians are fundamental centers of 24 Standard time Zones.

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Check Your Progress

1. Define local time. Highlight two weaknesses of having local time.
2. What is standard time? How does it differ from the concept of “Time Zone”?
3. At what longitude standard time of Nepal has been fixed? Name the place from where the

longitude on which the standard time has been fixed passes through.
4. Calculate the time difference between Prime Meridian and “standard time longitude” of Nepal.
5. What is UTC? Why is it needed?
6. GMT is based on “Mean Solar Time”. Clarify “mean solar time”.
7. The length of solar day is not uniform throughout the year. What is the reason behind this?
8. Differentiate between local time and standard time.
9. Time zones brought chaotic time of the world into a systematically organized system. Explain.
10. What is standard time of a country? What are the benefits (advantages) of having standard

time?
11. Find out the time and day in time zone of 120° W longitude when it is 5.55 PM Sunday in time

zone of 90°E. Name the prominent places that lie in both the time zones mentioned above.

Words and terms you would like to know

Revolution of the Earth: Movement of the Earth around the Sun from east to west direction (clock-wise)
is known as revolution movement of the Earth. Earth takes approximately one year (365 days 5 hr 48 min
46 Sec or 365.25 days) to make one complete revolution around the Sun at a speed of 108,000 km/h.
Rotation of the Earth: Spinning movement of the Earth on its own axis from west to east (anti-clockwise
direction) is known as rotation movement of the Earth.
Sidereal Day: Earth’s rotation period (the time taken for one rotation) with respect to the Sun is called a
sidereal day which is 24 sidereal hours (23 hours 56 minutes on a normal clock).
Latitudes: Latitudes are angular measurement ranging from 0° at the equator to 90° at the poles which
give location of a place on the Earth. Latitudes are also known as parallels and the parallels of latitudes
are east-west lines (running circles) getting smaller in arc towards the poles.
Longitudes: Longitudes are imaginary lines between the North and South Poles that cross equator at right
angles (90°). Longitudes are called meridians (half-circles).
Prime Meridian: A prime meridian is a line of longitude at 0° in a geographical coordinates of 360°-
system. Since it crosses thorough Royal Observatory, Greenwich located in London, it is also known as
Greenwich Meridian.
International Date Line (IDL): The International Date Line is located at 180° line of longitude from east
or west of the Greenwich Meridian.
International Standard Time (IST): Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) at 0° longitude (also known as Prime
Meridian) is taken as International Standard Time (IST) for creating Time-Zone or for referring to any
local or actual time at a particular longitude or to find out difference (distance) in (between) longitudes.
Local Time: Local Time is the time based on a longitude (meridian) passing through a specific place
(village, town or a city) regardless of the time zone it lies in.
Standard Time: Standard Time is a uniform time fixed by law or custom for places located in and around
the same longitude established in a country or region.
Time Zone: A time zone is a region following a uniform standard time for socio-cultural, legal-political
and economic purposes. There can be one or more than one time-zones in a country depending upon its
size (expansion) from east to west.

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Activities

1. From North to South, there are eight countries which lie on the Prime Meridian 0° longitude.
These countries are United Kingdom, France, Spain, Algeria, Mali, Burkina Faso, Ghana and
Togo. Make a group of five students in the class and find out the continent which these above-
mentioned countries belong to and get the nearest towns and cities falling on 0° longitude.

2. Explain with reasons how you will adjust the time if you move to Taiwan in the east and to Dubai
in the west from Kathmandu.

3. You residing in Nepal get a telephone call from your friend residing in New York (United States
of America). Your friend from New York called you at 10 am in the pre-noon hours. Tell the time
at which you receive the call here in Nepal.

4. It is 3 pm in Chennai (Madras) which is located at 80° E longitude. Calculate the time in New
York which is located at 75° W longitude.

5.



In above figures, both latitudes and longitudes have been shown marked around the EARTH.
a) What benefits and convenience do you think we derive from these lines and how do they
contribute in scientific, economic and social development of human race on the EARTH?
b) Can you imagine human life without these lines of latitude and longitude on this planet?
Explain with convincing reasons.

Exercise

1. Define longitude. Explain clearly how longitudes determine time.
2. Why is it important for International Date Line to follow curved path instead of one simple

straight line?
3. Local time is the actual real time while standard time is the assumed time. Prove the statement

with illustrations.
4. It is 10 am in Kathmandu located at 85° E longitude. Find out the time in Singapore located at

105° E longitude.
5. State the reasons why countries like Russia and Canada have more than two standard times

instead of one like India and Nepal.
6. Find out the time in Tashkent at 60° E longitude when Chicago at 90° W longitude is reporting 6

(six) in the evening.
7. When Delhi at 75° E longitude clocks the time 4 in the early morning before sunrise, Singapore

is already showered with red-yellow sun-rays in its sky at 6 (six) in the morning. Find out the
longitude of Singapore.

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Lesson Topography (Physical Feature) of
Nepal
2

Nepal located in South Asia is a landlocked country having geographic coordinates from 26°22’N
to 30°27’N and from 80°4’E to 88°12’E. It means that Nepal has almost 4° of latitudinal expansion
in northern hemisphere from plain in southern region of Nepal to Himal (mountain) in northern
region and around 8° of longitudinal expansion in eastern hemisphere from west to east in Nepal.
Nepal’s length is little more than four times than its width having total area 147,181 square
kilometers. On an average, Nepal’s length (East-West) is 885 kilometers and width (North-South)
is 193 kilometers. Nepal’s boundary is shared by India on three sides and by Tibet (China) on one
side towards the north. Nepal’s lowest point lies at Musaharniya (60m) in Dhanusha district and
highest point at Sagarmatha (the peak of Mount Everest at 8,848 m) in Solukhumbu district. In
Nepal’s topography, altitude (both height and depth) plays a dominant role. Being a landlocked
country, the nearest sea access for Nepal is 644 kilometers (400 miles) to the southeast on the
Indian Ocean’s Bay of Bengal.
Following are the description of three physical features, the lowland or the Tarai (plain), the Hills
and the Mountains (the Himalaya):

A. The lowland (Plain or Tarai of Nepal): The altitude of the lowland area of Nepal popularly
known as Tarai (or plain) ranges from 60 to 600 meters above the sea level. The width of the Tarai
region ranges from 25 km in the East (that is Mechi) up to 32 km in the west (That is Mahakali). It
comprises of about 17% of the total land area of Nepal. Towards the north of the Tarai (plains) lies
the Chure range and further ahead lies the Mahabharat range. The Tarai is divided into two parts
…Outer Tarai and Inner Tarai. Outer Tarai (from 60 to about 200 meters) ends at the foothills of
Chure range (Siwalik) and expands towards the south bordering India. It is the extension of the
Indo-Gangetic plain drained by three great river systems namely, the Koshi, the Nayayani and
the Karnali and made up of fine alluvium.

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The Tarai-plain of Nepal
Alluvium is made up of fine particles (like silt and clay) mostly prevalent in the area of outer
Tarai and larger coarse particles of sand and gravel (called BHABHAR) widespread in inner
Tarai region. Bhabhar soil region that spreads over at the foothills of Chure range (Siwalik) is
composed of pebble-studded rocks and therefore not suitable for agriculture. On the other hand,
soil-bed of finer alluvium is found in outer Tarai region which lies to the south of inner Tarai or
Bhabhabar region. This finer alluvium is extremely suitable for agriculture and forestry. These
hot humid alluvial plains of outer Tarai had dense tropical forests, but now most of the plains
are intensively cultivated reducing the total forest area in the region. The presence of char kose
jhadi (twelve kilometer forest) still reminds us about its heavy forested past before the area was
converted into agricultural land.

Inner Tarai (from about 200m to 600m) lies between the Chure (Siwalik Range) and the Mahabharat
Range. The Inner Terai is called “BHITRI Tarai or Madhesh” in Nepali. Unlike Outer Tarai, this area
is composed of coarse alluvial sediments (called BHABHAR) that do not retain water and support
soil development giving rise to no practical possibility for sustainable agriculture. However, there
are several dun (Doon) valleys like the Chitwan Valley southwest of Kathmandu (central Nepal),
the Dang and Deukhuri valleys in western Nepal and Kamala Valley (Udaypur) in eastern Nepal
lying between Chure and Mahabharat range with fertile and productive soil. The Dun Valley is a
wide long valley within Chure range. Inner Tarai ends at the foothills of the Mahabharat range from
where the Hill region of Nepal begins. Inner Tarai region consists of districts like Udaypur, Chitwan,
Makwanpur, Sindhuli, Surkhet and Dang.
As a whole, Tarai region produces both food (cereal) and cash crops in much larger quantity than
the other regions of Nepal. It is particularly because of alluvial deposits in outer Tarai region.
Tarai region has earned the nickname as “Granary of Nepal”. Tarai has cover of “evergreen
tropical forest” too. This region has comparatively higher density of population in Nepal due to
better irrigation, transportation and other facilities needed in daily life.
B. The Hilly Region: The altitude of the Hilly region ranges from 600 to 3,300 meters above the
sea level. It comprises of about 68% of the total land area of Nepal having the width ranging
from 80 to 130 km. Hilly region consists of two mountain ranges. Chure mountain range covers
the area from the inner Tarai (BHITRI MADHESH) to the Chure range measuring up to 1,500
meters in height. Towards the north of Chure range and BHITRI MADHESH, there are a number
of mountain ranges. Collectively, they are named as Mahabharat mountain range which measure
up to the altitude of 3,300 meters. The Hills (the PAHAR) have rugged topography with major

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uplifts (elevation peaks) from Mahabharat and Siwalik ranges called Hills when compared with
the Himalayan lofty peaks in the North of Nepal. Apart from the Hills, this region has major
river basins formed by perennial rivers originating from the Himalayas along with valleys like
Kathmandu and Pokhara valley. Lower Hilly regions are the abode of deciduous forest while
upper Hills are dotted with coniferous forest with trees like fir and spruce. The view of Hilly-
region of Nepal is shown below:

Hilly Region of Nepal
Kathmandu valley is surrounded by four mountain ranges namely Shivpuri, Phulchowki,
Nagarjun and Chandragiri. It is bowl-shaped area. The Bagmati is the major river that flows
through the Kathmandu Valley. Kathmandu, Lalitpur and Bhaktapur are the three districts
which form the Kathmandu valley. Pokhara valley that lies in the western part of Nepal is the
second-largest valley in the hilly region of Nepal. Pokhara valley consists of two cities Pokhara
and Lekhnath. Both Kathmndu and Pokhara are vulnerable to earthquakes because of having
loose soil composition made up of CLAY which increases the danger of liquefaction (process of
turning to liquid). Clay is a fine-grained natural rock or soil material which swells when it is wet
and shrinks when dry. Clay soils are called heavy soils, actually hard to manage but are very
fertile when treated in the right way. This is the reason Valleys have shown a prospect and a real
engagement in agriculture.
C. The Mountain Region (The Great Himalayan Region): The Mountain Region of Nepal is also
known as the Himal or the PARVAT. The altitude of the Himalayan region ranges from 3,300
to 8,848 meters above the sea level. It comprises of about 15% of the total land area of Nepal.
In general, the permanent snow-line occurs above 5,000 meters on the Himalayan Mountains
known as the Upper Himalaya. The major Himalayan Rivers rise north of the mountain ranges
and flow through deep gorges creating river basins on their path while flowing southward from
the Himalayas. The Upper Himalayan region is characterized by inclement climatic conditions
and the snow-covered mountain peaks making it extremely hostile environment for human
settlement. Beyond the Himalayan range towards the north lie some of the dry mountainous
valleys popularly known as BHOTS. Most popular BHOTS in Nepal are Manang, Mustang and
Dolpa. These areas are not fit for human settlement. However, sparsely populated settlements
are found mostly in the low-lying dry valleys (like Humla, Jumla, Dolpo, Mustang, Manang and
Khumbu) and the river basins. Upper parts of Himalayas have hardly any vegetation except
mosses and lichens while lower Himalayas have species of some flowering plants and grasses.

190 Nova Social Studies Grade-9 >>

Mountainous Region of Nepal
The whole Mountainous Region in Nepal is marked by a series of mountain peaks above 7,000
meters. The Eastern Himalayan Mountains in Nepal contain five of the seven highest peaks in
the world like Sagarmatha (Mount Everest, 8,848 meters), Kanchanjunga (8,585 meters), Mount
Lhotse (8,500 meters), Mount Makalu (8,480 meters) and Mount Cho Oyu (8189 meters). The
Western Mountains have two promising peaks namely Dhaulagiri (8,172 meters) and Annapurna
(8,077 meters).

Process of Formation of Himalaya

The Himalayan range is one of the youngest mountain ranges on the planet and is made up of
sedimentary and metamorphic rock. Modern theory of plate tectonics says that the Himalaya has
been formed by a continental collision between the Indo-Australian Plate and the Eurasian Plate.
According to ‘geological research’, Tethys sea (geosynclinals sea) had existed between Siberia in
the North and South India in the South some 70 million years ago in the beginning of the tertiary
period (geological time lasting from approximately 66 million to 2.6 million years ago). Siberian
region (then the part of supercontinent Laurasia) in the north is made up of Eurasian continental
plate while South India is the part of Indian plate (then the part of supercontinent Gondwanaland
or Gondwana in the ancient past). The compression of Tethys Sea began about 180 million years
ago when the old supercontinent of Gondwanaland began to break up. One of the fragments
of Gondwanaland is the Indian subcontinent popularly called as Indian plate or the Indian-
Australian plate. So, this Indian plate (or Indian-Australian plate) continued to move northward
toward the Eurasian plate (of which Siberia is a part). Finally, the Tethys Sea was confined by
the gradual movement of the Indian-Australian plate and eventually disappeared when both the
plates - Indian-Australian plate and Eurasian plate - met each other (about 50 million years ago).
The Indian-Australian Plate underwent the process of degradation beneath the Tethys Sea and
this led to the disappearance of the Tethys. The Himalayan range was created from powerful
earth movements that occurred as the Indian plate pressed against the Eurasian continental plate.
The earth movements raised the deposits laid down in the ancient, shallow Tethys Sea (on the
present site of the mountains) to form the Himalayan ranges. Even today the mountains continue
to rise, and earthquakes and tremors are frequent in the area due to movements in continental
plates.
In the middle of the tertiary period, tectonic forces shifted towards the south and formed the
Greater Himalayas as tectonic force could not go further down to the Deccan (south India). After
some time-period, another tectonic force came down to create Mahabharat mountain range.
During the formation of these mountain ranges, lands in this region got depressed (sunk) to
form valleys, basins and lakes. This is the reason Nepal shows marked variations in its land-feature

191<< Nova Social Studies Grade-9

(topography). At the end of the tertiary period, emergence of tectonic forces further created Chure
range which is made up of boulders, stones and sands not as compact as Himalayan and Mahabharat
ranges. Even after the formation of three ranges in Himalaya (as mentioned above), Tethys continued
to exist but in very limited area till the end of Pleistocene period (2,588,000 to 11,700 years ago). Rivers
flowing from the crest of Himalayan Mountains kept on depositing sediments in the remaining part
of the Tethys giving rise to vast plain land in northern India with the Tarai region of Nepal.

The Indian plate (Indo-Australian plate) is still moving at 67 mm per year thereby uplifting the
Himalayas by about 5  mm per year. The Himalayan region is geologically active. Moreover,
the movement of the Indian plate into the Eurasian plate makes this region seismically active
so prone to earthquakes. For example, the mreagjioorneoarnth2q5uthaAkpermil e2a0s1u5ri(n1g2th7B.8aMisawkohn, the Moment
Magnitude Scale struck central Himalayan 2072) having
the epicenter in east of the district of Lamjung followed by a major aftershock with the moment
mcaapgitnailtuodf Ke a(Mthwm) aonfd7u.3aonnd 12th May 2015 (29th Baishakh 2072) having the epicenter between the
Mt. Everest near Chinese border. This earthquake killed around 9,000
people in Nepal with vast destruction of property.

Benefits (utility) of having lived with Himalayas in Nepal: Following are the major benefits having
lived with Himalayas for Nepal:

1. Himalayas in Nepal,  great mountain system of Asia, form a barrier between the  Plateau of
Tibet to the north and the alluvial plains of the south in Tarai. The Himalayan region is dotted
with hundreds of lakes. Most lakes are found at altitudes of less than 5,000 m, with the size of
the lakes diminishing with altitude. The mountain lakes formed by glacial activity are known
as TARNS. Tarns are found mostly in the upper reaches of the Himalaya (above 5,500 meters).

2. The higher regions of the Himalayas are snowbound throughout the year, in spite of their
proximity to the tropics, and they form the sources of several large perennial rivers.

3. The Himalayas have a profound effect on the climate of Nepal, the Tibet plateau and the
Indian sub-continent. The Himalayas prevent frigid and dry winds from blowing south into
the sub-continent keeping the region much warmer. It also acts as a barrier for the monsoon
winds blocking them from blowing northwards and causing heavy rainfall in the Tarai region
of Nepal. Central Asian deserts like Taklamakan (Northwestern China) and Gobi (Southern
Mongolia and Northern China) have been created owing to the influence of the Himalayas, as
one of the causes, amongst others.

4. Presence of Himalaya has made Nepal a land of great physical diversity and of fabulous natural
beauty. Nepal has an imposing physical feature and an impressive portion of one of the planet’s
superlative landscapes as the Himalayas towards the north and the lowland environment along
its border with India towards the south. The Kaligandaki Gorge (also known as Andha Galchi
or Dana Gorge) in the Himalayas is the deepest gorge (5,571 m or 18,2781ft) in the world. This
gorge separates the major Himalayan peaks like Dhaulagiri (8,167m) on the west and Annapurna
(8,091m) on the east making it the world’s deepest gorge. Another bewitching physical feature
of Nepal is Tilicho Lake located at the highest altitude (4,920m) of the world in Manang district
of Nepal in the Annapurna range of the Himalayas. Thanks to Himalayas, tourism has always
been one of the main pillars of Nepal’s economy.

5. Himalayas have gifted Nepal a great wealth of natural resources such as mineral ores like
copper, coal, iron, lead, etc in different parts of Nepal. At different altitudes from Tarai to
Himal, Nepal has a variety of forest resources such as ever-green, deciduous and coniferous
which have many numbers of plants and trees with medicinal values. Bio-diversity has further
enriched Nepal’s plant and animal world. Perennial rivers originating from high mountain-

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peaks of Himalayas have great potential for being used in generation of hydro-electricity,
irrigation, navigation and for drinking water purposes.

6. Last but not the least, rivers originating from Himalayas act as boundary for Nepal both within
and outside the geography (territorial boundary) of the country.

[Note: How did Sagarmatha become Mt. Everest? Sir Andrew Waugh in 1865 AD, the Surveyor
General of British India, named the highest peak of the world as Mount Everest in honor of
his predecessor Sir George Everest. Nepalese name for Mount Everest is Sagarmatha which
means ‘Goddess of the Universe’ or ‘Forehead of the Sky’. Tibetan name for Mount Everest is
Chomolungma].

Words and terms you would like to know

Lofty (adj.): very high
Collision (n.): the action of two moving objects hitting each other
Degradation (n.): erosion of the Earth’s land surface by water, wind or ice
Epicenter (n.): the exact location on the Earth’s surface directly above the focus of an earthquake or
underground nuclear explosion
Profound (adj.): very great, intense or strong
Fabulous (adj.): amazing, impressive

Activities

Discuss each of the ecological (topographical) regions of Nepal along with its importance in the class.

Exercise

1. Carefully observe the map of Nepal which shows the land topography from north to south. Draw
this map and denote the important places and land features. Mark your home-district and the
location where you are residing at present.

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2. Draw a map of Nepal and show the topography of Himal, Pahad and Tarai.
3. Define the following terms:
BHITRI Madhesh, Bhots, Dun, Bhabhar, Clay, Tertiary period, Pleistocene period
4. Differentiate between Bhots and Duns at least in four points.
5. In how many divisions can Nepal be divided based on its land features. Briefly explain each of

them.
6. Explain the process how land feature of Nepal has evolved the way it appears now.
7. Nepal’s land feature has a lot of benefits to offer, if only we make proper use of it. Critically

analyze the statement with the help of appropriate examples.

Project Work

1. Make a model as a group project to show natural land-topography of Nepal. Use the materials
like clay, paper, plywood, etc. to complete your project.

2. Division of land-topography in sharp three ecological regions like Himal (mountains), Pahad
(Hills) and Tarai (Plains) is not very simple as it looks. In mountainous regions, hills are found
and mountains are found in hilly regions of Nepal. Tarai is not exactly plains as the name indicates
as hills are present there. Be that as it may, Himalayan region of Nepal comprises of 15%, Hilly
region 68% and Tarai occupies 17% of the total land area of Nepal. Now, do similar research
on your own to find out what is the percentage of total land area of Nepal being occupied by
different scales of altitude in Nepal like 60 to 600 meters, 600 to 3300 meters and 3300 to 5000
meters and 5000 to 8800 meters.

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